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TUT-ANKH-AMEN’S THRONE 

Copyright. Used by permission of Howard Carter, Esq., London 

The back shows the king with the queen touching his shoulder. The throne is overlaid 
with sheet gold, while the seat, back, and arms are embellished with faience in brilliant colors, 
which are as fresh to-day as they were more than three thousand years ago. 







EARLY 

EUROPEAN 

HISTORY 

BY 

HUTTON WEBSTER, Ph.D. 

\V 

PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 
AUTHOR OF “ANCIENT HISTORY,” “MEDIEVAL AND 
MODERN HISTORY,” “ MODERN EUROPEAN 
HISTORY,” “WORLD HISTORY,” ETC. 


“ There is no part of history so generally useful as 
that which relates to the progress of the human 
mind, the gradual improvement of reason, the suc¬ 
cessive advances of science, the vicissitudes of 
learning and ignorance, which are the light and 
darkness of thinking beings, the extinction and 
resuscitation of arts, and the revolutions of the 
intellectual world.”— Samuel Johnson, Rasselas. 


REVISED 

EDITION 


D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON 










COPYRIGHT, I917, 1924 AND 1925 
BY D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 

2 C $ 



APR-2 *25 


PRINTED IN U.S.A. 


© Cl A 822741 

yi v \ 


PREFACE 


This book aims to furnish a concise and connected account of 
human progress during ancient, medieval, and early modern 
times. It meets the requirements of those high schools and 
preparatory schools where ancient history, as a separate dis¬ 
cipline, is being supplanted by a more extended course intro¬ 
ductory to the study of recent times and contemporary problems. 
Such a course was outlined by the Regents of the University of 
the State of New York in their Syllabus for Secondary Schools , 
first issued in 1910. 

After the appearance of the Regents’ Syllabus the Committee 
of Five of the American Historical Association made its Report 
(1911), suggesting a rearrangement of the curriculum which 
would permit a year’s course in English and Continental history. 
The Committee on Social Studies of the Commission on the 
Reorganization of Secondary Education, in its Report (1916) 
to the National Education Association, definitely recommended 
the division of European history into two parts, of which the first 
should include ancient and Oriental civilization, English and 
Continental history to approximately the end of the seventeenth 
century, and the period of American exploration. 

The first twelve chapters of the present work are condensed 
from the author’s Ancient History. The remaining chapters 
are taken, with some modifications of both order and content, 
from the author’s Medieval and Modern History. A number of 
new maps, plates, and illustrations have been added to both 
parts of the book. 

The selection of collateral reading, always a difficult problem 
in the secondary school, is doubly difficult when so much ground 
must be covered in a single course. The author ventures, there¬ 
fore, to call attention to his Readings in Ancient History and 
Readings in Medieval and Modern History. The two volumes 

iii 


IV 


Preface 


consist of extracts from the sources, chiefly of a biographical 
or narrative character. Their purpose is to provide immature 
pupils with a variety of extended, unified, and interesting ex¬ 
tracts on matters which a textbook treats with necessary, though 
none the less deplorable, condensation. A third volume — His¬ 
torical Source Book — includes a number of documents ranging 
from Magna Carta to the Covenant of the League of Nations. 
These collections supply abundant material, not only for out¬ 
side reading, but also for oral reports in class and essays. Refer¬ 
ences to the three books are inserted in footnotes. 

Teachers will find in the work a variety of aids. The “ Sug¬ 
gestions for Further Study” provide extended bibliographies. 
The “Studies” at the end of each chapter are based directly on 
the text; they may be used either in the daily recitation or for 
review after the entire chapter has been read. Most of them 
take the form of suggestive questions, which not only test the 
memory, but stir the sluggish mind, provoke debate, and lead 
to constructive thinking. There are also numerous exercises 
requiring the preparation of outline maps. The “Table of 
Events and Dates,” forming the appendix, should be con¬ 
sulted frequently, and pupils should be required to explain and 
elaborate the brief statements there given concerning the sig¬ 
nificance of each dated event. Care should also to be taken to 
have pupils acquire a correct pronunciation of all proper names 
mentioned in the text and incorporated in the index and pro¬ 
nouncing vocabulary. 

HUTTON WEBSTER 

Lincoln, Nebraska 
March, 1925 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

List of Illustrations . xiii 

List of Maps .xvii 

List of Plates . xx 

Suggestions for Further Study .xxii 

CHAPTER 

I. The Ages before History. 

1. The Study of History . 1 

2. Prehistoric Peoples. 3 

3. Domestication of Animals and Plants. 6 

4. Writing and the Alphabet. 8 

5. Primitive Science and Art. 11 

6. Historic Peoples. 15 

II. The Lands and Peoples of the East to about 500 b.c. 

7. Physical Asia. 19 

8. Babylonia and Egypt. 22 

9. The Babylonians and the Egyptians. 24 

10. The Phoenicians and the Hebrews. 29 

11. The Assyrians. 34 

12. The World Empire of Persia. 37 

III. Oriental Civilization. 

13. Social Classes. 42 

14. Economic Conditions. 44 

15. Commerce and Trade Routes. 47 

16. Law and Morality. 50 

17. Religion. 52 

18. Literature and Art. 56 

19. Science and Education. 60 

IV. The Lands of the West and the Rise of Greece to 

about 500 B.C. 

20. Physical Europe. 65 

21. Greece and the Aegean. 66 

22. The Aegean Age (to about 1100 b.c.). 68 

23. The Homeric Age (about 1100-750 b.c.) .... 72 

24. Early Greek Religion. 75 


v 





























vi Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

25. Religious Institutions: Oracles and Games ... 78 

26. The Greek City-State . 81 

27. The Growth of Sparta (to 500 b.c.) 83 

28. The Growth of Athens (to 500 b.c.). 85 

29. Colonial Expansion of Greece (about 750-500 b.c.) 87 

30. Bonds of Union among the Greeks. 90 

V. The Great Age of the Greek Republics to 362 b.c. 

31. The Perils of Hellas. 93 

32. Expeditions of Darius against Greece. 95 

33. Xerxes and the Great Persian War. 97 

34. Athens under Themistocles, Aristides, and Cimon 100 

35. Athens under Pericles .103 

36. The Peloponnesian War, 431-404 b.c.108 

37. The Spartan and Theban Supremacies, 404-362 

b.c .Ill 

38. Decline of the City-State. 113 

VI. Mingling of East and West after 359 b.c. 

39. Philip and the Rise of Macedonia.115 

40. Demosthenes and the End of Greek Freedom . . 117 

41. Alexander the Great..119 

42. Conquest of Persia and the Far East, 334-323 b.c. 122 

43. The Work of Alexander.125 

44. Hellenistic Kingdoms and Cities.127 

45. The Hellenistic Age . ..130 

46. The Graeco-Oriental World.133 

VII. The Rise of Rome to 264 b.c. 

47. Italy and Sicily.136 

48. The Peoples of Italy.137 

49. The Romans.140 

50. Early Roman Society.143 

51. Roman Religion.145 

52. The Roman City-State.149 

53. Expansion of Rome over Italy, 509 (?)-264 b.c. . 153 

54. Italy under Roman Rule.155 

55. The Roman Army. 158 

VIII. The Great Age of the Roman Republic, 264-31 b.c. 

56. The Rivals: Rome and Carthage, 264-218 b.c. . 162 

57. Hannibal and the Great Punic War, 218-201 b.c. 164 

58. Roman Supremacy in the West and in the East, 

201-133 b.c. ..168 

59. The Mediterranean World under Roman Rule . . 171 



























Contents vii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

60. The Gracchi 174 

61. Marius and Sulla .178 

62. Pompey and Caesar .180 

63. The Work of Caesar.186 

64. Antony and Octavian .188 

65. The End of an Epoch .190 

IX. The Early Empire: the World under Roman Rule, 

31 b.c-180 a.d. 

66. Augustus, 31 b.c.-14 a.d . 193 

67. The Successors of Augustus, 14-96 a.d .197 

68 . The “ Good Emperors,” 96-180 a.d .200 

69. The Provinces of the Roman Empire.202 

70. The Roman Law and the Latin Language .... 206 

71. The Municipalities of the Roman Empire .... 208 

72. Economic and Social Conditions in the First and 

Second Centuries . ..210 

73. The Graeco-Roman World.215 

X. The Later Empire: Christianity in the Roman 
World, 180-395 a.d. 

74. The “Soldier Emperors,” 180-284 a.d .219 

75. The “Absolute Emperors,” 284-395 a.d .220 

76. Economic and Social Conditions in the Third and 

Fourth Centuries.224 

77. The Preparation for Christianity.226 

78. Rise and Spread of Christianity.229 

79. The Persecutions .232 

80. Triumph of Christianity.234 

81. Christian Influence on Society.237 

XI. The Germans to 476 a.d. 

82. Germany and the Germans.239 

83. Breaking of the Danube Barrier.241 

84. Breaking of the Rhine Barrier.245 

85. Inroads of the Huns.247 

86 . End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 a.d. . 248 

87. Germanic Influence on Society.250 

XII. Classical Civilization. 

88 . The Classical City.252 

89. Education and the Condition of Children .... 253 

90. Marriage and the Position of Women.256 

91. The Home and Private Life.257 





























Contents 


viii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

92. Amusements.264 

93. Slavery ..268 

94. Greek Literature ..270 

95. Greek Philosophy.273 

96. Roman Literature.276 

97. Greek Architecture.278 

98. Greek Sculpture.281 

99. Roman Architecture and Sculpture.282 

100. Artistic Athens.288 

101. Artistic Rome.292 

XIII. Western Europe during the Early Middle Ages, 

476-962 a.d. 

102. The Ostrogoths in Italy, 488-553 a.d.298 

103. The Lombards in Italy, 568-774 a.d.300 

104. The Franks under Clovis and His Successors . . . 303 

105. The Franks under Charles Martel and Pepin the 

Short..305 

106. The Reign of Charlemagne, 768-814 a.d.307 

107. Charlemagne and the Revival of the Roman Em¬ 

pire, 800 a.d.311 

108. Disruption of Charlemagne’s Empire, 814-870 a.d. 312 

109. Germany under Saxon Kings, 919-973 a.d. . . . 315 

110. Otto the Great and the Restoration of the Roman 

Empire, 962 a.d.317 

111. The Anglo-Saxons in Britain, 449-839 a.d. ... 319 

112. Christianity in the British Isles.322 

113. The Fusion of Germans and Romans.325 

XIV. Eastern Europe during the Early Middle Ages, 395- 

1095 a.d. 

114. The Roman Empire in the East.328 

115. The Reign of Justinian, 527-565 a.d.329 

116. The Empire and its Asiatic Foes.332 

117. The Empire and its Foes in Europe.334 

118. Byzantine Civilization.335 

119. Constantinople.337 

XV. The Orient against the Occident: Rise and Spread 
or Islam, 622-1058 a.d. 

120. Arabia and the Arabs.342 

121. Mohammed: Prophet and Statesman, 622-632 a.d. 343 

122. Islam and the Koran.346 

123. Expansion of Islam in Asia and Egypt.348 






























Contents ix 

CHAPTER PAGE 

124. Expansion of Islam in North Africa and Spain . . 350 

125. The Caliphate and its Disruption, 632-1058 a.d. . . 352 

126. Arabian Civilization.353 

XVI. The Northmen and the Normans to 1066 a.d. 

127. Scandinavia and the Northmen.360 

128. The Viking Age.361 

129. Scandinavian Heathenism.363 

130. The Northmen of the West.366 

131. The Northmen of the East.368 

132. Normandy and the Normans.370 

133. Conquest of England by the Danes; Alfred the 

Great.371 

134. Norman Conquest of England; William the Con- 

. queror.372 

135. Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily . . 377 

XVII. Feudalism 

136. Rise of Feudalism.379 

137. Feudalism as a form of Local Government .... 380 

138. Feudal Justice.383 

139. Feudal Warfare. 385 

140. The Castle and Life of the Nobles.387 

141. Knighthood and Chivalry.390 

142. Feudalism as a Form of Local Industry.393 

143. The Village and Life of the Peasants.394 

144. Serfdom].398 

145. Decline of Feudalism .399 

XVIII. The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, 962-1273 a.d. 

146. Development of Christianity.401 

147. Rise and Growth of the Papacy.403 

148. Church Jurisdiction.404 

149. The Secular Clergy.406 

150. The Regular Clergy.407 

151. Spread of Christianity over Europe.411 

152. The Friars.413 

153. Power of the Papacy.. . 415 

154. Popes and Emperors, 962-1122 a.d.416 

155. Popes and Emperors, 1122-1273 a.d.421 

XIX. The Occident against the Orient: The Crusaders, 
1095-1291 a.d. 

156. Causes of the Crusades .424 

157. First Crusade, 1095-1099 a.d.426 
































X 


Contents 


CHAPTER PAGE 

158. Crusaders’ States in Syria.429 

159. Second Crusade, 1147-1149 a.d., and the Third 

Crusade, 1189-1192 a.d .431 

160. Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire of Constanti¬ 

nople, 1202-1261 a.d .433 

161. Results of the Crusades.435 

XX. The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks to 1453 a.d. 

162. The Mongols.438 

163. Conquests of the Mongols, 1206-1405 a.d .439 

164. The Mongols in China and India.442 

165. The Mongols in Eastern Europe . 443 

166. The Ottoman Turks and their Conquest, 1227-1453 

a.d. 445 

XXI. European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

167. Growth of the Nations.449 

168. England under William the Conqueror, 1066-1087 

a.d. ; the Norman Kingship.450 

169. England under Henry II, 1154-1189 a.d. ; Royal 

Justice and the Common Law .451 

170. The Great Charter, 1215 a.d .454 

171. Parliament during the Thirteenth Century .... 455 

172. Expansion of England under Edward I, 1272-1307 

a.d .458 

173. Unification of France, 987-1328 a.d .462 

174. The Hundred Years’ War between France and 

England, 1337-1453 a.d .465 

175. Unification of Spain (to 1492 a.d) .468 

176. Austria and the Swiss Confederation, 1273-1499 a.d. 470 

177. The Expansion of Germany ..473 

XXII. European Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

178. Growth of the Cities.477 

179. City Life.480 

180. Civic Industry: the Guilds.483 

181. Trade and Commerce.485 

182. Money and Banking.488 

183. Italian Cities.490 

184. German Cities: the Hanseatic League.494 

185. The Cities of Flanders.496 

XXIII. Medieval Civilization 

186. Formation of National Languages.500 

187. Development of National Literatures.502 





























Contents xi 

CHAPTER PAGE 

188. Romanesque and Gothic Architecture; the Cathe¬ 

drals .505 

189. Education; the Universities.509 

190. Scholasticism.513 

191. Science and Magic .514 

192. Popular Superstitions. 517 

193. Popular Amusements and Festivals.520 

194. Manners and Customs.524 

XXIV. The Renaissance 

195. Meaning of the Renaissance.529 

196. Revival of Learning in Italy.530 

197. Paper and Printing.533 

198. Revival of Art in Italy.535 

199. Revival of Learning and Art beyond Italy .... 538 

200. The Renaissance in Literature.539 

201. The Renaissance in Education.543 

202. The Scientific Renaissance.545 

203. The Economic Renaissance.548 

XXV. Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

204. Medieval Geography. 552 

205. Aids to Exploration.555 

206. To the Indies Eastward: Prince Henry and Da 

Gama.556 

207. The Portuguese Colonial Empire.559 

208. To the Indies Westward: Columbus and Magellan 560 

209. The Indians.566 

210. Spanish Explorations and Conquests in America . 569 

211. The Spanish Colonial Empire.570 

212. English and French Explorations in America . . . 573 

213. The Old World and the New.575 

XXVI. The Reformation and the Religious Wars, 1517- 
1648 a.d. 

214. Decline of the Papacy.579 

215. Heresies and Heretics. 582 

216. Martin Luther and the Beginning of the Reforma¬ 

tion in Germany, 1517-1522 a.d .585 

217. Charles V and the Spread of the German Reforma¬ 

tion, 1519-1556 a.d .588 

218. The Reformation in Switzerland; Zwingli and Cal¬ 

vin .590 

219. The English Reformation, 1533-1558 a.d .591 

220. The Protestant Sects.594 































Contents 


xii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

221. The Catholic Counter Reformation.597 

222. Spain under Philip II, 1556-1598 a.d .600 

223. Revolt of the Netherlands.601 

224. England under Elizabeth, 1558-1603 a.d .604 

225. The Huguenot Wars in France.608 

XXVII. Absolutism in England and France, 1603-1715 a.d. 

226. The Divine Rights of Kings.612 

227. The Absolutism of the Stuarts, 1603-1642 a.d. . . 613 

228. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Revolution, 1642- 

1649 a.d .618 

229. The Commonwealth and the Protectorate, 1649- 

1660 a.d .622 

230. The Restoration and the “ Glorious Revolution,” 

1660-1689 a.d .625 

231. William III and Anne, 1689-1714 a.d .629 

232. Absolutism of. Louis XIII, 1610-1643 a.d .632 

233. Absolutism of Louis XIV, 1643-1715 a.d .634 

234. The Wars of Louis XIV .638 

235. France under the “Grand Monarch”.644 

Table or Events and Dates.649 

Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary.653 

















LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Disk of Phaestus. 

PAGE 

1 

Rock Sepulchers of the Persian 

PAGE 

A Papyrus Manuscript . . . 

2 

Kings. 

39 

A Prehistoric Egyptian Grave 

3 

Babylonian Seal. 

41 

Hatchet of the Early Stone Age 

4 

A Royal Name in Hiero¬ 


Arrowheads of the Later Stone 


glyphics (Rosetta Stone) . 

42 

Age. 

5 

An Egyptian Court Scene . . 

43 

Early Roman Bar Money . . 

7 

Plowing and Sowing in Ancient 


Symbolic Picture Writing . . 

8 

Egypt . 

45 

Mexican Rebus. 

9 

Transport of an Assyrian 


Chinese Picture Writing and 


Colossus. 

46 

Conventional Characters . 

9 

Egyptian weighing “Cow Gold ’ ’ 

47 

Cretan Writing. 

10 

Tax Collecting in Egypt . . . 

48 

Egyptian and Babylonian 


Babylonian Contract Tablet . 

51 

Writing. 

11 

An Egyptian Scarab .... 

53 

A Mammoth. 

12 

Amenhotep IV. 

54 

Head of a Girl. 

13 

Mummy and Cover of Coffin . 

55 

A Dolmen. 

15 

The Judgment of the Dead 

56 

Carved Menhir. 

16 

The Deluge Tablet. 

57 

Race Portraiture of Egyptians 

17 

Egyptian Temple (Restored) . 

57 

The Great Wall of China . . 

20 

An Egyptian Wooden Statue . 

58 

Philse. 

23 

An Assyrian Palace (Restored) 

59 

Top of Monument containing 
the Code of Hammurabi 

25 

An Assyrian Winged Human¬ 
headed Bull. 

60 

Khufu (Cheops), Builder of the 


An Assyrian Hunting Scene . 

61 

Great Pyramid. 

27 

Babylonian Map of the World 

62 

Menephtah, the supposed 


An Egyptian Scribe. 

63 

Pharaoh of the Exodus . 

27 

Excavations at Nippur . . . 

64 

Head of Mummy of Rameses 

28 

Excavations at Troy .... 

68 

The Great Pyramid. 

29 

Lions’ Gate, Mycenae .... 

70 

The Great Sphinx . 

30 

Silver Fragment from Mycenae 

71 

A Phoenician War Galley. . . 

32 

A Cretan Girl. 

72 

An Assyrian. 

34 

yEgean Snake Goddess ... 

73 

An Assyrian Relief. 

35 

A Cretan Cupbearer .... 

74 

The Ishtar Gate, Babylon . . 

36 

The Francois Vase. 

77 

The Tomb of Cyrus the Great 

37 

Consulting the Oracle at 


Darius with his Attendants . 

38 

Delphi . 

78 


xiii 





























XIV 


List of Illustrations 


PAGE 


The Discus Thrower .... 80 

Athlete using the Strigil ... 81 

Temple of Neptune, Paestum . 89 

Throne of Minos. 92 

Croesus on the Pyre. 93 

Persian Archers . 94 

Gravestone of Aristion ... 95 

A Themistocles Ostrakon . . 97 

An Athenian Trireme .... 99 

“Theseum”.101 

Pericles.103 

An Athenian Inscription . . . 105 
The “Mourning Athena” . . 109 
A Silver Coin of Syracuse . . 110 

Philip II.115 

Demosthenes.117 

Alexander.119 

The Alexander Mosaic . . . 123 

A Greek Cameo.127 

The Dying Gaul.129 

A Graeco-Etruscan Chariot . . 138 

An Etruscan Arch.139 

Characters of the Etruscan 

Alphabet.140 

An Early Roman Coin . . . 142 
A Roman Farmer’s Calendar . 144 

Cinerary Urns in Terra Cotta 145 

A Vestal Virgin.146 

Suovetaurilia.147 

An Etruscan Augur.148 

Coop with Sacred Chickens . 149 
Curule Chair and Fasces . . . 151 

Roman Camp.156 

The Appian Way.157 

A Roman Legionary .... 158 

A Roman Standard Bearer . . 159 
An Italian Plowman .... 161 

Column of Duilius . , . . . 163 
A Carthaginian or Roman Hel¬ 
met .166 

A Testudo.168 

Storming a City.170 

Gnseus Pompeius Magnus . . 180 


PAGE 

Marcus Tullius Cicero .... 181 

Gaius Julius Caesar.183 

A Roman Coin with the Head 

of Julius Caesar.186 

Roman Pontoon Bridge . . . 192 

Augustus.193 

Monumentum Ancyranum . . 196 

Pompeii.199 

Nerva.200 

Column of Trajan.201 

The Pantheon.202 

The Tomb of Hadrian .... 203 
Marcus Aurelius in his Trium¬ 
phal Car.204 

Wall of Hadrian in Britain . . 206 
Roman Baths, Bath, England 209 
A Roman Freight Ship . . . 211 

A Roman Villa.213 

A Roman Temple.215 

The Amphitheater at Arles , 216 
A Megalith at Baalbec . . . 217 
A Mithraic Monument . . . 228 
Modern Jerusalem and the 

Mount of Olives .... 230 

Madonna and Child.231 

Christ, the Good Shepherd . . 232 
Interior of the Catacombs . . 234 

The Labarum.235 

Arch of Constantine .... 236 

Runic Alphabet.240 

A Page of the Gothic Gospels 242 

An Athenian School.254 

A Roman School Scene . . . 255 
Youth reading a Papyrus Roll 256 
House of the Vettii at Pompeii 258 
Atrium of a Pompeian House 259 
Pompeian Floor Mosaic . . . 260 
Peristyle of Pompeian House . 261 

A Greek Banquet.262 

A Roman Litter.263 

Theater of Dionysus, Athens . 264 

A Dancing Girl.265 

The Circus Maximus .... 266 





































List of Illustrations 


A Slave’s Collar. 

; Sophocles. 

Socrates . 

Comer of a Doric Facade . . 

I Corner of an Ionic Fagade . . 

Corinthian Capital. 

Composite Capital. 

Tuscan Capital. 

Interior of the Ulpian Basilica 

A Roman Aqueduct. 

The Colosseum (Exterior) . . 
The Colosseum (Interior) . . 

A Roman Cameo. 

Tomb of Theodoric, Ravenna 

Charlemagne. 

The Iron Crown of Lombardy 
Cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle . 
Ring Seal of Otto the Great . 
Anglo-Saxon Drinking Horn . 
St. Martin’s Church, Canter¬ 
bury. 

Canterbury Cathedral .... 
A Mosaic of Justinian .... 
Three Monuments of Hippo¬ 
drome, Constantinople 

Mecca. 

A Passage from the Koran . . 
Naval Battle showing Use of 

“Greek Fire”. 

Interior of the Mosque of 

Cordova . 

The Alhambra. 

Capitals from the Alhambra . 
Swedish Rock Carving . . . 

A Viking Ship.. 

Norse Metal Work. 

Alfred’s Jewel. 

A Scene from the Bayeux 

Tapestry. 

The Tower of London .... 

Trial by Combat. 

Mounted Knight. 

Chateau Gaillard (Restored) . 


XV 

PAGE 


King and Jester.390 

Falconry.391 

A Joust.392 

Farm Work in the Fourteenth 

Century .395 

Serf warming his Hands . . . 398 
A Bishop ordaining a Priest . 407 
St. Daniel the Stylite on his 

Column.408 

Abbey of Saint-Germain des 

Pres, Paris.410 

A Monk Copyist ...... 411 

St. Francis blessing the Birds. 414 
The Spiritual and the Tem¬ 
poral Power.417 

An Abbot’s Seal.418 

Henry IV, Countess Matilda, 

and Gregory VII .... 420 
Contest between Crusaders 

and Moslems. > . 425 

“Mosque of Omar,” Jerusalem 428 
Effigy of a Knight Templar . 430 

A Crusader’s Ship.431 

“The Last Crusade” .... 432 
Hut-Wagon of the Mongols 439 

A Mongol.440 

Timur the Lame.441 

Mohammed II.446 

Passage from Domesday Book 451 

Windsor Castle.453 

Extract from Magna Carta . 455 
A Sitting of Parliament at 

Westminster.457 

Coronation Chair, Westmin¬ 
ster Abbey.460 

A Queen Eleanor Cross . . . 461 
Royal Arms of Edward III . 465 

Battle of Crecy.466 

Spinning and Weaving in the 

Middle Ages.476 

Carcassonne.478 

House of Jacques Cceur . . . 481 
A London Bellman.482 


PAGE 

270 

271 

274 

279 

279 

280 

280 

280 

284 

285 

286 

286 

287 

299 

307 

308 

310 

316 

320 

323 

324 

330 

339 

344 

347 

350 

355 

357 

358 

361 

363 

365 

372 

374 

375 

384 

386 

389 











































XVI 


List of Illustrations 


PAGE 

House of the Butchers’ Guild, 

Hildesheim, Germany . . 484 
Baptistery, Cathedral, and 

“Leaning Tower” of Pisa 491 

Duomo of Florence.492 

Jacob Fugger .495 

Belfry of Bruges.496 

Town Hall, Louvain, Belgium 498 
Roland at Roncesvalles . . . 503 

A Ballad Singer.504 

Cross Section of Amiens 

Cathedral . ..507 

Gargoyles on the Cathedral of 

Notre Dame, Paris . . . 508 
View of New College, Oxford . 510 
A University Lecture .... 512 

The Phoenix.516 

Magician rescued from Devil . 517 
The Witches’ Sabbath .... 519 
Knights playing Chess .... 521 

Bear Baiting.522 

Mummers.523 

A Miracle Play at Coventry. 524 

Sulgrave Manor.525 

Interior of a Manor House . . 526 

A Bevy of Ladies.527 

Petrarch.532 

An Early Printing Press . . . 534 
Facsimile of Part of Caxton’s 

“.Eneid” (Reduced). . . 535 
A Fifteenth Century Organ . 537 

Desiderius Erasmus.539 

Geoffrey Chaucer.541 

The Globe Theater.542 

Shakespeare’s Signature . . . 543 

A Hornbook.544 

Boys’ Sports.545 

Galileo.547 

“ When Adam Delved ” . . . 550 
An Astrolabe.555 


PAGE 

Vasco da Gama.558 

Christopher Columbus . . . 562 

The Santa Maria .563 

The Name “America” . . . 564 
Ferdinand Magellan .... 565 

A Maya Figurine.567 

Aztec Sacrificial Stone .... 568 
Cabot Memorial Tower ... 574 
English Battleship of the Six¬ 
teenth Century.575 

An Aztec Pictograph .... 578 

JohnWycliffe.584 

Worms Cathedral.588 

Zwingli.590 

Henry VIII.592 

Ruins of Melrose Abbey . . . 593 

St. Ignatius Loyola.598 

The Escorial.601 

William the Silent.602 

Crown of Elizabeth’s Reign . 605 
The Spanish Armada .... 607 

Henry IV . ..609 

Cardinal Richelieu.610 : 

Gold Coin of James I . . . . 614 

A Puritan Family.615 

Execution of Strafford ... 617 

Specimen of Cromwell’s Hand¬ 
writing .620 

Interior of Westminster Hall 621 
Great Seal of England under 

the Commonwealth . . 623 
Silver Crown of Charles II . . 624 

Gustavus Adolphus.632 

Versailles.637 

Marlborough.641 

Gibraltar.643 

Jean-Baptiste Colbert .... 644 
Medal of Louis XIV .... 645 







































LIST OF MAPS 


PAGE 

Races of Man. 14 

Distribution of Semitic and Indo-European Peoples. 18 

Physical Map of Asia. Facing 20 

Egyptian Empire (about 1450 b.c.) . 26 

Canaan as divided among the Tribes. 31 

Solomon’s Kingdom. 33 

The Ancient Orient (double page). Between 34 and 35 

Colonization of the Mediterranean. Facing 48 

Physical Map of Europe. Facing 66 

Aegean Civilization. 69 

Greek Conquests and Migrations. 75 

The World according to Homer, 900 b.c . 76 

The Persian Invasions of Greece.. 96 

Vicinity of Athens .107 

The Athenian Empire, 450 b.c . Facing 108 

Growth of Macedonia.112 

Route of the Ten Thousand ..121 

Empire of Alexander the Great (about 323 b.c.) Facing 124 

Kingdoms of Alexander’s Successors (about 200 b.c.) . . . Facing 124 

The World according to Ptolemy, 150 a.d .132 

Italy before the Rise of Rome. Facing 136 

Vicinity of Rome.141 

Rome in Italy, 509-264 b.c . Facing 154 

The Roman Empire at its Greatest Extent, 98-117 a.d. (double page) 

Between 194 and 195 

Plan of Jerusalem and its Environs.198 

Roman Britain.205 

Prefectures of the Roman Empire 395 a.d .220 

St. Paul’s Travels.228 

Palestine in the time of Christ. Facing 230 

Teutonic Migrations and Conquests. Facing 244 

Europe at the Deposition of Romulus Augustulus, 476 a.d. . Facing 248 

Plan of the Ulpian Basilica.284 

Plan of Ancient Athens.289 

Plan of the Parthenon.291 

xvii 
































xviii List of Maps 

PAGE 

Plan of Ancient Rome.293 

Europe at-the Death of Theodoric, 526 a.d.301 

Europe at the Death of Justinian, 565 a.d.301 

Growth of the Frankish Dominions, 481-768 a.d.304 

Europe in the Age of Charlemagne, 800 a.d. Facing 308 

The Frankish Dominions as divided by the Treaties of Verdun 

(843 a.d.) and Mersen (870 a.d.).313 

Europe in the Age of Otto the Great, 962 a.d.318 

Anglo-Saxon Britain ..321 

Peoples of Europe at the Beginning of the Tenth Century . Facing 326 
The Roman Empire in the East during the Tenth and Eleventh 

Centuries.332 

Vicinity of Constantinople.338 

Plan of Constantinople. 340 

Expansion of Islam. Facing 350 

Dismemberment of the Caliphate.353 

Discoveries of the Northmen in the West.367 

England under Alfred the Great. 373 

Norman Possessions in Italy and Sicily. 377 

Plan of Chateau Gaillard .388 

Plan of a Manor.397 

Growth of Christianity from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Century 

(double page) . Between 412 and 413 

Germany and Italy during the Interregnum, 1254-1273 a.d. Facing 422 

Crusader’s States in Syria.429 

Mediterranean Lands after the' Fourth Crusade, 1202-1204 a.d. 

(double page) . Between 434 and 435 

Asia under the Mongols. Facing 442 

Russia at the End of the Middle Ages.444 

Empire of the Ottoman Turks at the Fall of Constantinople, 1453 a.d. 447 

The British Isles during the Middle Ages.459 

Unification of France during the Middle Ages.463 

Unification of Spain during the Middle Ages. 470 

Growth of the Hapsburg Possessions .471 

The Swiss Confederation, 1291-1513 a.d.-..472 

German Expansion Eastward during the Middle Ages.474 

Trade Routes between Northern and Southern Europe in the Thir¬ 
teenth and Fourteenth Centuries.487 

Plan of Salisbury Cathedral, England.506 

The World according to Cosmas Indicopleustes, 535 a.d.553 

The Hereford Map, 1280 a.d.553 

Portuguese Exploration of the African Coast ..557 

Behaim’s Globe. 561 




































List of Maps xix 

PAGE 

Portuguese and Spanish Colonial Empires in the Sixteenth Century 

(double page). Between 560 and 561 

Map of the New World (1540 a.d.) .570 

The Spaniards in the Caribbean and on the Mainland.572 

The Great Schism, 1378-1417 a.d .581 

Europe at the Beginning of the Reformation, 1519 a.d. . . Facing 588 

Extent of the Reformation, 1524-1572 a.d .595 

The Netherlands at the Truce of 1609 a.d. ..603 

England and Wales in the 17th Century.619 

The Peace of Westphalia, 1648 a.d .633 

Acquisition of Louis XIV and Louis XV.640 

Europe after the Peace of Utrecht. Facing 642 












LIST OF PLATES 


Throne of Tut-Ankh-Amen . Frontispiece 

Stonehenge. Facing page 12 

Hall of Columns, Karnak. 58 

The Vaphio Gold Cups (National Museum, Athens). 70 

Greek Gods and Goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite .... 76 

Aphrodite of Melos (Louvre, Paris). 77 

Hermes and Dionysus (Museum of Olympia). 80 

Sarcophagus from Sidon (Imperial Ottoman Museum, Constantinople) 126 

Victory of Samothrace (Louvre, Paris) ..127 

Oriental, Greek, and Roman Coins.134 

Ancient and Medieval Gems.135 

A Roman and his Wife.144 

The Palaces of the Caesars.198 

Relief on the Arch of Titus.199 

The Antioch Chalice. 232 

Greek Funeral Monument. 268 

Portrait of a Young Woman.269 

The Parthenon.. . . ..280 

Views of Pediment and Frieze of Parthenon.281 

Acropolis of Athens (Restoration).290 

Acropolis of Athens from the Southwest.291 

Roman Forum and Surrounding Buildings (Restored).294 

Roman Forum at the Present Time.295 

Sancta Sophia, Constantinople.338 

Rheinstein Castle .386 

Choir of Westminster Abbey. 409 

Campanile and Doge’s Palace, Venice.494 

Illuminated Manuscript. 502 

Reims Cathedral.508 

Cologne Cathedral.509 

Ghiberti’s Bronze Doors at Florence.530 

St. Peter’s, Rome. 531 

Monna Lisa.538 

Rembrandt as an Officer . ..539 

Dante. 542 Shakespeare.542 

Pueblo of Taos, North Group.570 

Santa Barbara Mission. 571 

Martin Luther. 590 John Calvin.590 

Philip II.600 

Elizabeth. 601 

Oliver Cromwell.624 

Louis XIV.638 


xx 












































SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 


Students of history should have access to the American Historical 
Review (N. Y., 1895 to date, quarterly, $ 4.00 a year). This journal, 
the organ of the American Historical Association, p eriodicals 
contains articles by scholars, critical reviews of all 
important works, and notes and news. The Historical Outlook is 
edited in cooperation with committees of the American Historical 
Association and the National Council for the Social Studies (Phila¬ 
delphia, 1909 to date, monthly, $ 2.00 a year). Every well-equipped 
school library should contain the files of the National Geographic 
Magazine (Washington, 1890 to date, monthly, $ 3.00 a year) and of 
Art and Archceology (Washington, 1914 to date, monthly, $ 5.00 a 
year). These two periodicals make a special feature of illustrations. 

Useful books for the teacher’s library include H. E. Bourne, The 
Teaching of History and Civics in the Elementary and the Secondary 
School (N. Y., 1902 , Longmans, Green, & Co., $ 1 . 90 ), Henry Johnson, 
The Teaching of History (N. Y., 1915 , Macmillan, Works on 
$ 1 . 40 ), R. M. Tryon, The Teaching of History in Junior the study and 
and Senior High Schools (Boston, 1921 , Ginn & Co., ^ t c ^ ng of 
$ 1 . 48 ), H. B. George, Historical Evidence (N. Y., 1909 , S ° ry 
Oxford University Press, American Branch, $ 1 . 80 ), Frederic Harrison, 
The Meaning of History and Other Historical Pieces (new ed., N. Y., 
1900 , Macmillan, $ 2 . 00 ), J. H. Robinson, The New History (N. Y., 
1912 , Macmillan, $ 2 . 00 ), and H. B. George, The Relations of History 
and Geography ( 4 th ed., N. Y., 1910 , Oxford University Press, 
American Branch, $ 2 . 25 ). The following reports are indispensable: 

Historical Sources in Schools. Report to the New England History Teachers 
Association by a Select Committee (N. Y., 1902, Macmillan, out of 
print). 

A History Syllabus for Secondary Schools. Report by a Committee of the 
New England History Teachers’ Association (N.Y., 1904, Heath,$ 1 . 60 ). 
A Bibliography of History for Schools and Libraries. Published under the 
auspices of the Association of History Teachers of the Middle States 
and Maryland ( 2 d ed., N. Y., 1915, Longmans, Green, & Co., 60 cents). 

xxi 


XXII 


Suggestions for Further Study 


The most comprehensive dictionary of classical antiquities is 
H. T. Peck, Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities 
Dictionaries ( N - Y •> i 8 97, American Book Co., $ 8 . 00 ). For chro- 
and encyclo- nology, genealogies, lists of sovereigns, and other data 
pedias the most valuable works are Arthur Hassall, European 

History, 476-1920 (new ed., N. Y., 1920 , Macmillan, $ 4 . 00 ), G. P. 
Putnam, Tabular Views of Universal History (new ed., N. Y., 1915 , 
Putnam, $ 3 . 00 ), and Karl J. Ploetz, A Handbook of Universal History, 
translated by W. H, Tillinghast (Boston, 1915 , Houghton Mifflin 
Co., $ 3 . 75 ). 

The Illustrated Topics for Ancient History and Illustrated Topics 
for Medieval and Modern History, arranged by D. C. Knowlton 
(Philadelphia, McKinley Publishing Co., each 65 
cents), contain much material in the shape of a syl¬ 
labus, source quotations, outline maps, pictures, and other aids. 
Another useful work is W. R. Lingo, Syllabus and Reading Ref¬ 
erences for Early European History (Philadelphia, McKinley Pub¬ 
lishing Co., 50 cents). Teachers will also find very valuable the Helps 
to the Study of Ancient History (N. Y., Heath, 60 cents), prepared by 
F. A. Kuller and based on Webster’s Ancient History. 

An admirable collection of maps for school use is W. R. Shepherd, 
Historical Atlas (new ed., N. Y., 1923 , Holt, $ 3 . 90 ), with about two 
hundred and fifty maps covering the historical field. 
Other collections are E. W. Dow, Atlas of European 
History (N. Y., 1907 , Holt, $ 2 . 50 ) and Ramsay Muir, Hammond’s 
New Historical Atlas for Students ( 2 d ed., N. Y., 1914 , Hammond, 
$ 4 . 00 ). Much use can be made of the inexpensive and handy Liter¬ 
ary and Historical Atlas of Europe by J. G. Bartholomew in “Every¬ 
man’s Library” (N. Y., 1910 , Dutton, $ 1 . 00 ). 

The Webster-Knowlton-Hazen European History Maps, prepared 
by Hutton Webster, D. C. Knowlton, and C. D. Hazen, include 
Wall maps eighteen maps for ancient history and twenty-six for 

and charts medieval and modern history (Chicago, A. J. Nystrom 
& Co., complete set in chart form with tripod, $ 87 . 50 ). These 
maps may also be had separately. The maps in this series are 
on a very large scale ( 48 ! X 38 -* inches), omit all irrelevant detail, 
present place names in the modern English form, and deal with 
cultural as well as political subjects. They are accompanied by a 
Teacher’s Manual for each of the two sections. A somewhat similar 
series of wall maps, forty-three in number, size 44 X 32 inches, is 


Atlases 


Suggestions for Further Study 


XXlll 


the work of J. H. Breasted, C. F. Huth, and S. B. Harding (Chicago, 
Denoyer-Geppert Co.). The school should also possess good physical 
wall maps and blackboard outline maps. 

The “Studies” following each chapter of this book include various 
exercises for which small outline maps are required. Such maps are 
sold by D. C. Heath and Co., Boston, New York, Outline 
Chicago. Atlases of outline maps are also to be had ma P s 
of the McKinley Publishing Co., Philadelphia, Atkinson, Mentzer 
and Grover, Chicago, A. J. Nystrom & Co., Chicago, and of other 
publishers. 

Photographs of ancient works of art may be obtained from the 
foreign publishers in Naples, Florence, Rome, Munich, Paris, Athens, 
and London, or from their American agents. In ad- 
dition to photographs and lantern slides, a collec¬ 
tion of stereoscopic views is very helpful in giving vividness and 
interest to historical instruction. The Keystone stereographs, pre¬ 
pared by the Keystone View Company, Meadville, Penn., may be 
cordially recommended. Notable collections are Lehmann’s Geo¬ 
graphical Pictures, Historical Pictures, and Types of Nations, and 
Cybulski’s Historical Pictures (Chicago, A. J. Nystrom & Co., and 
Denoyer-Geppert Co.; each picture separately mounted on rollers). 

To vitalize the study of geography and history there is nothing 
better than the reading of modern books of travel. Works of 
Among these may be mentioned: travel 

Allinson, F. G., and Allinson, Anne C. E. Greek Lands and Letters. 
Barrows, S. J. The Isles and Shrines of Greece. 

Clark, F. E. The Holy Land of Asia Minor. 

Dunning, H. W. To-day on the Nile. 

- To-day in Palestine. 

Dwight, H. G. Constantinople, Old and New. 

Edwards, Amelia B. A Thousand Miles up the Nile. 

Forman, H. J. The Ideal Italian Tour. 

Hay, John. Castilian Days. 

Hutton, Edward. Rome. 

Jackson, A. V. W. Persia, Past and Present. 

Lucas, E. V. A Wanderer in Florence. 

Manatt, J. I. AEgean Days. 

Marden, P. S. Greece and the AEgean Islands. 

Paton, W. A. Picturesque Sicily. 

Richardson, R. B. Vacation Days in Greece. 

Warner, C. D. In the Levant. 


XXIV 


Suggestions for Further Study 


The following works of historical fiction comprise only a selection 
from a very large number of books suitable for supplementary read- 
Historical ing. For extended bibliographies see E. A. Baker, 
fiction A Guide to Historical Fiction, and Jonathan Nield, 

A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales. An excellent list 
of historical stories, especially designed for children, will be found 
in the Bibliography of History for Schools and Libraries, parts viii-ix. 

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. The Last Days of Pompeii. 

Dahn, Felix. Felicitas. Rome, 476 a.d. 

Doyle, A. C. The White Company. The English in France and Castile, 
1366-1367 A.D. 

Ebers, Georg. Uarda. Egypt, fourteenth century b.c. 

Eliot, George. Romola. Florence and Savonarola in the latter part of 
the fifteenth century. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Massachusetts in the 
seventeenth century. 

Hugo, Victor. Notre Dame. Paris, late fifteenth century. 

Irving, Washington. The Alhambra. Sketches of the Moors and Span¬ 
iards. 

Kingsley, Charles. Hypatia. Alexandria, 391 a.d. 

- Westward Ho! Voyages of Elizabethan seamen and the struggle 

with Spain. 

Kipling, Rudyard. Puck of Pook’s Hill. Roman occupation of Britain. 
Manzoni, Alessandro. The Betrothed. Milan under Spanish rule, 
1628-1630 A.D. 

Newman, J. H. Callista. Persecution of Christians in North Africa, 
250 A.D. 

Reade, Charles. The Cloister and the Hearth. Eve of the Reformation. 
Scott, (Sir) Walter. The Talisman. Reign of Richard I, 1193 a.d. 

- Ivanhoe. Richard I, 1194 a.d. 

Sienkiewicz, Henryk. QuoVadis ? Reign of Nero. 

Stevenson, R. L. The Black Arrow. War of the Roses. 

“Twain, Mark.” A Connecticut Yankee at the Court of King Arthur. 
Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur; a Tale of the Christ. 

Waterloo, Stanley. The Story of Ab. Prehistoric life. 

It is unnecessary to emphasize the value, as collateral reading, of 
historical poems and plays. To the brief list which follows should 
Historical be added the material in M. E. Windsor and J. 

poetry Turral, Lyra Historica (Oxford University Press), 

and Katharine Lee Bates and Katharine Coman, English History 
told by English Poets (Macmillan). 


XXV 


Suggestions for Further Study 

Browning, Robert. Echetlos and Pheidippides. 

Burns, Robert. The Battle of Bannockburn. 

Byron (Lord). Song of Saul before His Last Battle, The Destruction of 
Sennacherib, Belshazzar's Feast, Prometheus, “Greece” ( The Corsair, 
canto iii, lines 1 - 54 ), “Modern Greece” (Childe Harold, canto ii, 
stanzas 85 - 91 ), “The Death of Greece” ( The Giaour , lines 68 - 141 ), 
“The Isles of Greece” {Don Juan, canto iii), and “The Colosseum” 
{Childe Harold, canto iv, stanzas 140 - 145 ). 

Coleridge, S. T. Kubla Khan. 

Dryden, John. Alexander's Feast. 

Jonson, Ben. Hymn to Diana. 

Keats, John. Ode on a Grecian Urn. 

Kingsley, Charles. Andromeda and The Red King. 

Landor, W. S. Orpheus and Eurydice. 

Longfellow, H. W. “The Saga of King Olaf” {Tales of a Wayside Inn ) 
and The Skeleton in Armor. 

Lowell, J. R. Rhcecus and The Shepherd of King Admetus. 

Macaulay, T. B. Lays of Ancient Rome (“Horatius,” “Virginia,” “The 
Battle of Lake Regillus,” and “The Prophecy of Capys”), The Armada, 
and* The Battle of Ivry. 

Milton, John. Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity. 

Rossetti, D. G. The White Ship. 

Schiller, Friedrich. The Maid of Orleans, William Tell, Maria Stuart, 
and Wallenstein. 

Scott, (Sir) Walter. “Flodden Field” {Marmion, canto vi, stanzas 
19 - 27 , 33-35)* 

Shakespeare, William. Coriolanus, Julius Ccesar, Antony and Cleopatra, 
King John, Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth, parts i and ii, Henry 
the Fifth, Henry the Sixth, parts i, ii, and iii, Richard the Third, Henry 
the Eighth, and The Merchant of Venice. 

Shelley, P. B. To the Nile, Ozymandias, Hymn of Apollo, Arethusa, and 
Song of Proserpine. 

Tennyson, Alfred. Ulysses, CEnone, The Death of (Enone, Demeter and 
Persephone, The Lotus-Eaters, Boadicea, St. Telemachus, St. Simeon 
Stylites, Sir Galahad, and The Revenge : a Ballad of the Fleet. 
Thackeray, W. M. King Canute. 

Wordsworth, William. Laodamia. 

Full information regarding the best translations of the sources 
of ancient, medieval, and modern history is to be found in one of 
the Reports previously cited — Historical Sources in Sourceg 
Schools, parts ii-iv. Hutton Webster’s Readings in 
Ancient History (D. C. Heath & Co., $1.60) and Readings in Medieval 
and Modern History (Heath, $1.64) provide narrative and biographical 



XXVI 


Suggestions for Further Study 


selections from the sources, while the same editor’s Historical Source 
Book (Heath, $ 1 . 60 ) furnishes the text of important documents with 
introductions and notes. Use may also be made of the following 
collections: 

Botsford, G. W., and Botsford, Lillie S. Source Book of Ancient History 
(N. Y., 1912, Macmillan, $2.00). 

Davis, W. S. Readings in Ancient History (Boston, 1912, Allyn and Bacon, 
2 vols., $2.80). 

Fling, F. M. A Source Book of Greek History (N. Y., 1907, Heath, $1.56). 
Munro, D. C. A Source Book of RomanHistory (N. Y., 1904, Heath, $1.44). 
Ogg, F. A. A Source Book of Medieval History (N. Y., 1907, American 
Book Co., $1.72). 

Robinson, J. H. Readings in European History (Abridged ed., Boston, 
1906, Ginn, $2.50). 

Most of the books in the following list are inexpensive, easily pro¬ 
cured, and well adapted in style and choice of topics to the needs of 
Modern high-school students. A few more elaborate and costly 

works volumes, especially suitable for teachers, are indicated 

by an asterisk (*). For detailed bibliographies, often accompanied 
by critical estimates, see C. K. Adams, A Manual of Historical 
Literature , and the Bibliography of History for Schools and Libraries , 
parts ii-iv. 


GENERAL 

Day, Clive. A History of Commerce (new ed., N. Y., 1923, Longmans, 
Green & Co., $2.50). 

Gras, S. N. B. An Introduction to Economic History (N. Y. 1922, Harper, 
$2.25). 

Herbertson, A. J., and Herbertson, F. D. Man and His Work (3d ed., 
N. Y., 1914, Macmillan, $1.28). An introduction to the study of 
human geography. 

Jacobs, Joseph. The Story of Geographical Discovery (N. Y., 1898, Apple- 
ton, $1.00). 

* Kroeber, A. L. Anthropology (N. Y., 1923, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 

S3-75)- 

Libby, Walter. An Introduction to the History of Science (Boston, 1917, 
Houghton Mifflin Co., $2.35). 

* Lowie, R. H. Primitive Society (N. Y., 1920, Boni & Liveright, $3.00). 
Marvin, F. S. The Living Past (2d ed., N. Y., 1915, Oxford University 

Press, American Branch, $2.00). Suggestive survey of intellectual 
history. 


Suggestions for Further Study 


XXVll 


Myres, J. L. The Dawn of History (N. Y., 1912 , Holt, 90 cents). “Home 
University Library.” 

Pattison, R. P. D. Leading Figures in European History (N. Y., 1912, 
Macmillan, $2.00). Biographical sketches of European statesmen from 
Charlemagne to Bismarck. 

Reinach, Salomon. Apollo; an Illustrated Manual of the History of Art 
throughout the Ages, translated by Florence Simmonds (N. Y., 1914 , 
Scribner, $ 2 . 00 ). The best brief work on the subject. 

Seignobos, Charles. History of Ancient Civilization, edited by A. H. 
Wilde (N. Y., 1906 , Scribner, $ 1 . 48 ). 

- History of Medieval and of Modern Civilization, edited by J. A. James 

(N. Y., 1907 , Scribner, $ 1 . 48 ). 

Van Loon, H. The Story of Mankind (N. Y., 1920, Boni & Liveright, $5.00). 
Wells, H. G. A Short History of the World (N. Y., 1922, Macmillan, $4.00). 

PREHISTORIC TIMES 

Burkitt, M. C. Our Forerunners (N. Y., 1923 , Holt, 96 cents). “Home 
University Library.” 

* MacCurdy, G. G. Human Origins (N. Y., 1924 , Appleton, 2 vols., $ 10 . 00 ). 

An exhaustive, richly illustrated work on prehistory. 

* Osborn, H. F. Men of the Old Stone Age (N. Y., 1915, Scribner, $5.00). 

An authoritative, interesting, and amply illustrated work. 

* Sollas, W. J. Ancient Hunters and Their Modern Representatives ( 3 d ed., 

N. Y., 1924 , Macmillan, $ 7 . 50 ). 

Tyler, J. M. The New Stone Age in Northern Europe (N. Y., 1921 , Scrib¬ 
ner, $ 3 . 00 ). 

Wilder, H. H. Man’s Prehistoric Past (N. Y., 1923 , Macmillan, $ 5 . 00 ). 
THE ANCIENT ORIENT 

Baikie, J ame s. The Story of the Pharaohs (N. Y., 1908 , Macmillan, $ 4 . 25 ). 
A popular work; well illustrated. 

* Breasted, J. H. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian 

Conquest ( 2 d ed., N. Y., 1909 , Scribner, $ 7 . 00 ). 

Clay, A. T. Light on the Old Testament from Babel ( 4 th ed., Philadelphia, 
1915 , Sunday School Times Co., $ 2 . 00 ). 

* Hall, H. R. The Ancient History of the Near East ( 5 th ed., N. Y., 1920 , 

Macmillan, $ 7 . 00 ). A standard work for advanced students. 
Hogarth, D. G. The Ancient East (N. Y., 1915 , Holt, 90 cents). “Home 
University Library.” 

* Jastrow, Morris, Jr. The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria (Phila¬ 

delphia, 1915 , Lippincott, $ 7 . 50 ). A finely illustrated volume by a 
great scholar. 



XXV111 


Suggestions for Further Study 


Maspero, (Sir) Gaston. Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria (N. Y., 1892 , 
Appleton, $ 2 . 50 ). Fascinating and authoritative. 

* Olmstead, A. T. History of Assyria (N. Y., 1923 , Scribner, $ 7 . 50 ). 

GREECE AND ROME 

Abbott, Evelyn. Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens (N. Y., 1891 , 
Putnam, $ 2 . 50 ). “Heroes of the Nations.” 

Baikie, James. The Sea-Kings of Crete ( 2 d ed., N. Y., 1912 , Macmillan, 
$ 4 . 25 ). A clear and vivid summary of Cretan archaeology. 

Bailey, Cyril (editor). The Legacy of Rome (N. Y., 1923 , Oxford Univer¬ 
sity Press, American Branch, $ 2 . 50 ). Essays on Roman civilization by 
distinguished scholars. 

Blumner, Hugo. The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks , translated by Alice 
Zimmern ( 3 d ed., N. Y., 1910 , Funk and Wagnalls Co., $ 2 . 50 ). 

* Botsford, G. W. Hellenic History (N. Y., 1922 , Macmillan, $ 4 . 00 ). 
Davis, W. S. A Day in Old Athens (Boston, 1914 , Allyn & Bacon, $ 1 . 00 ). 

* Dennle, John. Rome of To-day and Yesterday; the Pagan City (5th ed., 

N. Y., 1909 , Putnam, $ 3 . 50 ). 

Fowler, W. W. Rome (N. Y., 1912 , Holt, 90 cents). “Home University 
Library.” 

- The City-State of the Greeks and Romans (N. Y., 1893 , Macmillan, $ 2 . 00 ). 

The only constitutional history of the classical peoples intelligible to 
elementary students. 

- Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero (N. Y., 1909 , Macmillan, $ 3 . 00 ). 

- Julius Caesar and the Foundation of the Roman Imperial System ( 2 d ed., 

N. Y., 1897 , Putnam, $ 2 . 50 ). “Heroes of the Nations.” 

* Frank, Tenney. A History of Rome (N. Y., 1923 , Holt, $ 3 . 50 ). “Ameri¬ 

can Historical Series.” 

Gayley, C. M. The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art ( 2 d ed., 
Boston, 1911 , Ginn, $ 1 . 92 ). 

Goodyear, W. H. Roman and Medieval Art ( 2 d ed., N. Y., 1897 , Mac¬ 
millan, $ 2 . 00 ). 

Gulick, C. B. The Life of the Ancient Greeks (N. Y., 1902 , Appleton, $ 2 . 00 ). 
Hopkinson, (Miss) L. W. Greek Leaders (Boston, 1918 , Houghton 
Mifflin Co., $ 1 . 75 ). Simple biographies of eleven makers of Greek 
history. 

Johnston, H. W. The Private Life of the Romans (Chicago, 1903 , Scott, 
Foresman & Co., $ 2 . 00 ). 

Jones, H. S. The Roman Empire, B.C. 29 -A.D. 476 (N. Y., 1908 , Putnam, 
$ 2 . 50 ). “Story of the Nations.” 

* Lanciani, Rudolfo. The Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome (Bos¬ 

ton, 1898 , Houghton Mifflin Co., $ 6 . 50 ). 

Livingstone, R. W. (editor). The Legacy of Greece (N. Y., 1921 , Oxford 


XXIX 


Suggestions for Further Study 

University Press, American Branch, $2.50). Essays on Greek civiliza¬ 
tion by distinguished scholars. 

Mahaffy, J. P. What have the Greeks done for Modern Civilization ? (N. Y., 
1909, Putnam, $2.50). 

Mahaffy, J. P., and Gilman, Arthur. The Story of Alexander's Empire 
(N. Y., 1887, Putnam, $2.50). The only concise narrative of the Hel¬ 
lenistic period. 

* Mau, August. Pompeii: its Life and Art, translated by F. W. Kelsey 

(N. Y., 1899, out of print). 

Morris, W. O’C. Hannibal and the Crisis of the Struggle between Carthage 
and Rome (N. Y., 1897, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the Nations.” 
Oman, Charles. Seven Roman Statesmen of the Later Republic (N. Y., 
1902, Longmans, Green, & Co., $2.25). A biographical presentation 
of Roman history. 

Pickard-Cambridge, A. W. Demosthenes and the Last Days of Greek Free¬ 
dom (N. Y., 1914, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the Nations.” 
Robinson, C. E. The Days of Alkibiades (N. Y., 1916, Longmans, Green, 
& Co., $2.00). A picture of Greek life and culture in the Age of 
Pericles. 

* Seymour, T. D. Life in the Homeric Age (new ed., N. Y., 1914, Mac¬ 

millan, $4.00). 

* Stobart, J. C. The Glory that was Greece: a Survey of Hellenic Culture 

and Civilization (2d ed., Philadelphia, 1915, Lippincott, $7.50). 

* - The Grandeur that was Rome: a Survey of Roman Culture and Civ¬ 

ilization (2d ed., Philadelphia, 1920, Lippincott, $7.50). 
Strachan-Davidson, J. S. Cicero and the Fall of the Roman Republic 
(N. Y., 1894, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the Nations.” 

Tarbell, F. B. A History of Greek Art (2d ed., N. Y., 1905, Macmillan, 
$1.60). 

Tucker, T. G. Life in Ancient Athens (N. Y., 1906, Macmillan, $2.40). 
The most attractive treatment of the subject. 

- Life in the Roman World of Nero and St. Paul (N. Y., 1910, Macmillan, 

$ 3 - 5 °)* 

* Weller, C. H. Athens and its Monuments (N. Y., 1913, Macmillan, 

$4.00). 

Wheeler, B. I. Alexander the Great and the Merging of East and West into 
Universal History (N. Y., 1900, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the 
Nations.” 

* Zimmern, A. E. The Greek Commonwealth (3d ed., N. Y., 1922, Oxford 

University Press, American Branch, $3.80). 

MIDDLE AGES 

Adams, G. B. Civilization during the Middle Ages (2d ed., N. Y., 1914, 
Scribner, $2.75). 


XXX 


Suggestions for Further Study 


Archer, T. A., and Kingsford, C. L. The Crusades (N. Y., 1894, Putnam, 
$2.50). “Story of the Nations.” 

Baring-Gould, Sabine. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (N. Y., 1869, 
Longmans, Green, & Co., $1.25). 

Bateson, Mary. Medieval England (N. Y., 1903, Putnam, $2.50). Deals 
with social and economic life. “Story of the Nations.” 

* Bryce, James (Viscount). The Holy Roman Empire (new ed., N. Y., 

1904, Macmillan, $3.75). 

Cornish, F. W. Chivalry (London, 1911, Allen, 4 s. 6 d.). 

Cutts, E. L. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages (London, 1872, 
De La More Press, 105. 6 d.). An almost indispensable book. 

Davis, H. W. C. Medieval Europe (N. Y., 1911, Holt, 90 cents). “Home 
University Library.” 

- Charlemagne, the Hero of Two Nations (N. Y., 1899, Putnam, $2.50). 

“Heroes of the Nations.” 

Davis, W. S. Life on a Medieval Barony (N. Y., 1923, Harper, $3.50). 
Emerton, Ephraim. An Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages (Bos¬ 
ton, 1888, Ginn, $1.92). The most satisfactory short account. 

Foord, Edward. The Byzantine Empire (N Y., 1911, out of print). The 
most convenient short treatment; lavishly illustrated. 

* Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em¬ 

pire, edited by J. B. Bury (N. Y., 1914, Macmillan, 7 vols.). The 
best edition, illustrated and provided with maps, of this standard 
work. 

* Green, J. R. Short History of the English People, edited by Mrs. J. R. 

Green and Miss Kate Norgafe (N. Y., 1893-1895, Harper, 4 vols.). A 
beautifully illustrated edition of this standard work. 

Guerber, H. A. Legends of the Middle Ages (N. Y., 1896, American Book 
Co., $2.00). 

Haskins, C. H. The Normans in European History (Boston, 1915, Houghton 
Mifflin Co., $3.00). 

* Hearnshaw, F. J. C. (editor). Medieval Contributions to Modern Civiliza¬ 

tion (London, 1921, Harrap, 105. 6 d.). 

Jessopp, Augustus. The Coming of the Friars, and Other Historic Essays 
(N. Y., 1888, Putnam, $2.50). 

Lawrence, W. W. Medieval Story (N. Y., 1911, Columbia University 
Press, $2.00). Discusses the great literary productions of the Middle 
Ages. 

* Munro, D. C. The Middle Ages (N. Y., 1921, Century Co., $3.50). 

“Century Historical Series.” 

* Munro, *D. C., and Sellery, G. C. Medieval Civilization (2d ed., N. Y., 

1907, Century Co., $2.50). Translated selections from standard works 
by French and German scholars. 

Tapp an, Eva M. When Knights were Bold (Boston, 1912, Houghton M iffl in 



XXXI 


Suggestions for Further Study 

Co., $3.00). An economic and social study of the Feudal Age; charm¬ 
ingly written. 

* Thorndike, Lynn. The History of Medieval Europe (Boston, 1917, Hough¬ 

ton Mifflin Co., $3.50). An admirable college textbook. 

TRANSITION TO MODERN TIMES 

* Abbott, W. C. The Expansion of Europe, 1415-1789 (N. Y., 1918, Holt, 

2 vols., $8.00). “American Historical Series.” 

Bourne, E. G. Spain in America, 1450-4580 (N. Y., 1904, Harper, $2.00). 
“American Nation Series.” 

|Cheyney, E. P. European Background of American History, 1500-1600 
(N. Y., 1904, Harper, $2.00). “American Nation Series.” 

Creighton, Mandell. The Age of Elizabeth (13th ed., N. Y., 1897, Scrib¬ 
ner, $1.00). “Epochs of Modern History.” 

Firth, C. H. Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England 
(new ed., N. Y., 1923, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the Nations.” 
Goodyear, W. H. Renaissance and Modern Art (N. Y., 1894, Macmillan 
$2.00). 

Hassall, Arthur. Louis XIV and the Zenith of the French Monarchy 
(new ed., N. Y., 1923, Putnam, $2.50). “Heroes of the Nations.” 
Hudson, W. H. The Story of the Renaissance (N. Y., 1912, Holt, $2.50). 
Hulme, E. M. The Renaissance, the Protestant Revolution, and the Catholic 
Reformation in Continental Europe (rev. ed., N. Y., 1915, Century Co., 
$3.50). The best work on the subject by an American scholar. 
Seebohm, Frederic. The Era of the Protestant Revolution (N. Y., 1875, 
• Scribner, $1.75). “Epochs of Modern History.” 

* Smith, Preserved. The Age of the Reformation (N. Y., 1920, Holt, $5.00). 

“American Historical Series.” 

Thwaites, R. G. France in America, 1497-1765 (N. Y., 1905, Harper, 
$2.00). “American Nation Series.” 






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EARLY 

EUROPEAN HISTORY 


CHAPTER I 

THE AGES BEFORE HISTORY 
1. The Study of History 

History is the narrative of what civilized man has done. It 
deals with those social groups called states and nations. Just 
as biography de- Subject mat- 
scribes the life of ter of histor y 
individuals, so history relates 
the rise, progress, and decline 
of human societies. 

History cannot go back of 
written records. These alone 
Will preserve a Manuscripts 
full and accurate and books 
account of man’s achieve¬ 
ments. Manuscripts and 
books form one class of writ- The Disk or Pilestus 

ten records. The old Baby- Found in 1908 A.D. in the palace at Phaes- 

lonians used tablets of soft tus ; Crete - The disk is of refined cla y on 

. . which the figures were stamped in relief with 

clay, On which signs were im- punches. Both sides of the disk are covered 

pressed with a metal instru- with characters - The side seen in the aiustra - 

tion contains 31 sign groups (123 signs) sepa- 
ment. The tablets were then rated from one another by incised fines. The 
baked hard in an oven. The other side contains 3° sign groups (n8 signs). 

The inscription dates from about 1800 B.c. 

Egyptians made a kind of 

paper out of the papyrus, a plant native to the Nile valley. The 
Greeks and Romans at first used papyrus, but later they employed 
the more lasting parchment prepared from sheepskin. Paper 
seems to have been a Chinese invention. It was introduced 
into Europe by the Arabs during the twelfth century of our era. 



2 


The Ages before History 


A second class of written records consists of inscriptions. 
These are usually cut in stone, but sometimes we find them 
Inscriptions painted over the surface of a wall, stamped on 
and remains co ins, or impressed upon metal tablets. The his¬ 
torian also makes use of remains, such as statues, ornaments, 



j= 


- = - - 


= f£U« 

51 


S,l'^^V Vv, - | 7f 

J.i'tV L(Mf 

CWXtw-arS 



A Papyrus Manuscript ^ 

The pith of the papyrus, a plant native to the Nile valley, was cut into slices, 
which were then pressed together and dried in the sun. Several of the paper sheets 
thus formed were glued together at their edges to form a roll. From papyros 
and byblos, the two Greek names of this plant, have come our own words, 

“ paper ” and “ Bible.” The illustration shows a manuscript, discovered in Egypt 
in 1890 a.d. It is supposed to be a treatise, hitherto lost, on the Athenian con¬ 
stitution by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. 

f 

weapons, tools, and utensils. Monuments of various sorts, in¬ 
cluding palaces, tombs, fortresses, bridges, temples, and churches, 
form a very important class of remains. 

History, based on written records, begins in different coun- 
Beginnings tries at varying dates. A few manuscripts and 
of history inscriptions found in Egypt date back three or 
four thousand years before Christ. The annals of Babylonia are 































Prehistoric Peoples 3 

scarcely less ancient. Trustworthy records in China and India 
do not extend beyond 1000 b.c. For the Greeks and Romans 
the commencement of the historic period must be placed 
about 750 b.c. The inhabitants of northern Europe did not 
1 come into the light of history until about the opening of the 
Christian era. 

2. Prehistoric Peoples 

In studying the historic period our chief concern is with those 
peoples whose ideas or whose deeds 
have aided human The prehis- 
progress and the tone period 
spread of civilization. Six-sevenths 
of the earth’s inhabitants now be¬ 
long to civilized countries, and 
these countries include the best and 
largest regions of the globe. At the 
beginning of historic times, how¬ 
ever, civilization was confined 
within a narrow area ■— the river 
valleys of western Asia and Egypt. 

The uncounted centuries before the 
dawn of history make up the pre¬ 
historic period, when savagery and 
barbarism prevailed throughout 
the world. Our knowledge of it is 
derived from the examination of 
the objects found in caves, refuse mounds, graves, and other 
sites. Various European countries, including England, France, 
Denmark, Switzerland, and Italy, are particularly rich in pre¬ 
historic remalins. 

The prehistoric period is commonly divided, according to the 

character of the materials used for tools and weapons, into the 

Age of Stone and the Age of Metals. The one is 
o 0 The two ages 

the age of savagery; the other is the age of bar¬ 
barism or semicivilization. ' 

Man’s earliest implements were those that lay ready to his 



A Prehistoric Egyptian 
Grave 


The skeleton lay on the left side, 
with knees drawn up and hands raised 
to the head. About it were various 
articles of food and vessels of pottery. 


The Ages before History 



hand. A branch from a tree served as a spear; a thick stick in 
The stone his strong arms became a powerful club. Later, 

A s e perhaps, came the use of a hard stone such as flint, 

which could be chipped into the forms of arrowheads, axes, and 
spear tips. The first stone implements were 
so rude in shape that it is difficult to believe 
them of human workmanship. They may have 
been made several hundred thousand years ago. 
After countless centuries of slow advance, sav¬ 
ages learned to fasten wooden handles to their 
stone tools and weapons and also to use such 
materials as jade and granite, which could be 
ground and polished into a variety of forms. 
Stone implements continued to be made dur¬ 
ing the greater part of the prehistoric period. 
Every region of the world has had a Stone 
Age. 1 Its length is reckoned, not by centuries, 
but by milleniums. 

The Age of Metals, compared with its prede- 
The Age of cessor, covers a brief expanse of 
Metals time. The use of metals came in 

not much before the dawn of history. The earliest civilized 
peoples, the Babylonians and Egyptians, when we first become 
acquainted with them, appear to be passing from the use of 
stone implements to those of metal. 

Copper was the first metal in common use. The credit for 
the invention of copper tools seems to belong to the Egyp- 
Copper tians. At a very early date they were working the 

copper mines on the peninsula of Sinai. The Baby¬ 
lonians probably obtained their copper from the same region. 
Another source of this metal was the island of Cyprus in the 
eastern Mediterranean. The Greek name of the island means 
“ copper.” 

1 There are still some savage peoples, for instance, the Australians, who con¬ 
tinue to make stone implements very similar to those of prehistoric men. Other 
primitive peoples, such as the natives of the Pacific islands, passed directly from the 
use of stone to that of iron, after this part of the world was opened up to European 
trade in the nineteenth century. 


A Hatchet of 
the Early 
Stone Age 

A hatchet of flint, 
probably used with¬ 
out a helve and in¬ 
tended to fit the 
hand. Similar im¬ 
plements have 
been found all over 
the world, except in 
Australia. 


Prehistoric Peoples 5 

But- copper tools were soft and would not keep an edge. 
Some ancient smith, more ingenious than his fellows, discovered 
that the addition of a small part of tin to the copper Bronze 
produced a new metal — bronze — harder than 
the old, yet capable of being molded into a variety of forms. 
At least as early as 3000 B.c. we find bronze taking the place 
of copper in both Egypt and Babylonia. Somewhat later bronze 



Arrowheads oe the Later Stone Age 

Different forms from Europe, Africa, and North America. 


was introduced into the island of Crete, then along the eastern 
coast of Greece, and afterwards into other European countries. 

The introduction of iron occurred in comparatively recent 
times. At first it was a scarce, and therefore a very precious, 
metal. The Egyptians seem to have made little Ifon 
use of iron before 1500 b.c. They called it “the 
metal of heaven,” as if they obtained it from meteorites. In 
the Greek Homeric poems, composed about 900 b.c. or later, 
we find iron considered so valuable that a lump of it is one of 
the chief prizes at athletic games. In the first five books 
of the Bible iron is mentioned only thirteen times, though 
copper and bronze are referred to forty-four times. Iron is 
more difficult to work than either copper or bronze, but it is 
vastly superior to those metals in hardness and durability. 
Hence it gradually displaced them throughout the greater part 
of the Old World. 1 

During the prehistoric period early man came to be widely 

1 Iron was unknown to the inhabitants of North America and South America 
before the coming of the Europeans. The natives used many stone implements, 
besides those of copper and bronze. The Indians got most of their copper from the 
mines in the Lake Superior region, whence it was carried far and wide. 


6 The Ages before History 

scattered throughout the world. Here and there, slowly, and 
First steps with utmost difficulty, he began to take the 


steps 


toward civili- first 
zation , • i 

weapons which 


toward civilization. The tools and 
he left behind him afford some 
evidence of his advance. We may now single out some of his 
other great achievements and follow their development to the 
dawn of history. 


3. Domestication of Animals and Plants 

Prehistoric man lived at first chiefly on wild berries, nuts, 
roots, and herbs. As his implements improved and his skill 
Hunting and increased, he became hunter, trapper, and fisher, 
fishing stage a tribe of hunters, however, requires an extensive 
territory and a constant supply of game. When the wild animals 
are all killed or seriously reduced in number, privation and hard¬ 
ship result. It was a forward step, therefore, when man began 
to tame animals as well as to kill them. 

The dog was man’s first conquest over the animal kingdom. 
As early as the Age of Metals various breeds appear, such as 
Domestica- deerhounds, sheep dogs, and mastiffs. The dog 
tion of the soon showed how useful he could be. He tracked 
game, guarded the camp, and later, in the pas¬ 
toral stage, protected flocks and herds against their enemies, 
i The cow also was domesticated at a remote period. No 
other animal has been more useful to mankind. The cow’s 
The cow h es h and milk supply food; the skin provides 
clothing; the sinews, bones, and horns yield mate¬ 
rials for implements. The ox was early trained to bear the yoke 
and draw the plow, as we may learn from ancient Egyptian 
paintings. 1 Cattle have also been commonly used as a kind of 
money. The early Greeks, whose wealth consisted chiefly of 
their herds, priced a slave at twenty oxen, a suit of armor at one 
hundred oxen, and so on. The early Romans reckoned values 
in cattle (one ox being equivalent to ten sheep). Our English 
word “pecuniary” goes back to the Latin pecus, or “herd” of 
cattle. 


1 See the illustration, page 4.5. 


Domestication of Animals and Plants 


7 


The domestication of the horse came much later than that of 
the cow. In the early Stone Age the horse ran wild over west¬ 
ern Europe and _ , 

_ . The horse 

formed an im¬ 
portant source of food for 
primitive men. This prehis¬ 
toric horse, as some ancient 
drawings show, was a small 
animal with a shaggy mane 
and tail. It resembled the Early Roman Bar Money 
wild pony still found on the a bar of copper marked with the figure of a 
steppes of Mongolia. The do- Dates from 1116 fourth century B ' c ; 

mesticated horse does not appear in Egypt and western Asia 
much before 1500 b.c. For a long time after the horse was 
tamed, the morejpianageable ox continued to be used as the beast 
of burden. The horse was kept for chariots of war, as among the 
Egyptians, or ridden bareback in races, as by the early Greeks. 

At the close of prehistoric times in the Old World nearly all 
the domestic animals of to-day were known. Be- otherani _ 
sides those just mentioned, the goat, sheep, ass, ma^domes- 
and hog had become man’s useful servants. 1 

The domestication of animals made possible an advance from 
the hunting and fishing stage to the pastoral stage. Herds of 
cattle and sheep would now furnish more certain ^ pastoral 
and abundant supplies of food than the chase could stage 
ever yield. We find in some parts of the world, as on the great 
Asiatic plains, the herdsman succeeding the hunter and fisher. 
But even in this stage much land for grazing is required. 
With the exhaustion of the pasturage the sheep or cattle must 
be driven to new fields. Hence pastoral peoples, as well as 
hunting and fishing folk, remained nomads without fixed 
homes. Before permanent settlements were possible, another 
onward step became necessary. This was the domestication 
of plants. 

i In the New World, the only important domestic animal was the llama of the 
Andes! The natives used it as a beast of burden, ate its flesh, and clothed themselves 
with its wool. 








8 


The Ages before History 

The domestication of plants marked almost as wonderful 
an advance as the domestication of animals. When wild seed- 
Agricultural grasses and plants had been transformed into the 
stage great cereals — wheat, oats, barley, and rice — 

people could raise them for food, and so could pass from the life 
of wandering hunters or shepherds to the life of settled farmers. 
There is evidence that during the Stone Age some of the inhabit¬ 
ants of Europe were familiar with various cultivated plants, but 
agriculture on a large scale seems to have begun in the fertile 
regions of Egypt and western Asia. 1 Here first arose populous 
communities with leisure to develop the arts of life. Here, as has 
been already seen, 2 we must look for the beginnings of history. 

4. Writing and the Alphabet 

Though history is always based on written records, the first 
steps toward writing are prehistoric. We start with the pictures 
Picture or rough drawings which have been found among 
writing the remains of the early Stone Age. 3 Primitive 
man, however, could not rest satisfied with portraying objects. 


-»l <r * 

1 2 3 
Various Signs of Symbolic Picture Writing 

i, “war” (Dakota Indian); 2, “morning” (Ojibwa Indian); 3, “ nothing” (Ojibwa In¬ 
dian); 4 and's, “ to eat” (Indian, Mexican, Egyptian, etc.). 

He wanted to record thoughts and actions, and so his pictures 
tended to become symbols of ideas. The figure of an arrow 
might be made to represent, not a real object, but the idea 
of an “enemy.” A “fight” could then be shown simply by 
drawing two arrows directed against each other. Many un¬ 
civilized tribes still employ picture writing of this sort. The 
American Indians developed it in most elaborate fashion. On 

1 The plants domesticated in the New World were not numerous. The most 
important were the potato of Peru and Ecuador, Indian corn or maize, tobacco, the 
tomato, and manioc. From the roots of the latter, the starch called tapioca is 
derived. 2 See page 2. 3 See the illustration, page 12. 




9 


Writing and the Alphabet 


rolls of birch bark or the skins of animals they wrote messages, 
hunting stories, and songs, and even preserved tribal annals 
extending over a century. 

A new stage in the development of writing was reached when 
the picture represented, not an actual object or an idea, but a 
sound of the human voice. This difficult but all- Sound wr i t _ 
important step appears to have been taken through ^ the 
the use of the rebus, that is, writing words by pic- re us 

tures of objects which stand 
O for souncis * Such. abuses 

are f ounc [ j n prehistoric 
Egyptian writing; for ex¬ 
ample, the Egyptian words 
for “sun” and “goose”were 
so. nearly alike that the 
royal title, “Son of the Sun,” could be suggested by grouping 
the pictures of the sun and a goose. Rebus making is still a 
common game among childreiji, but to primitive men it must 
have been a serious occupation. 


Mexican Rebus 

The Latin Pater Noster, “Our Father,” is 
written by a flag {pan), a stone ( te), a prickly 
pear ( noch), and another stone {te). 


Sun 

Moon 

Mountain 

Tall 

Song (an ear 
and a bird) 

Light 

o 

D 

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oj) 

0 



3K 


fit* 

Chinese Picture Writing and Later Conventional Characters 


In the simplest form of sound writing each separate picture or 
symbol stands for the sound of an entire word. This method 
was employed by the Chinese, who have never Words and 
given it up. A more developed form of sound syllables 
writing occurs when signs are used for the sounds, not of entire 
words, but of separate syllables. Since the number of different 
syllables which the voice can utter is limited, it now becomes 
possible to write all the words of a language with a few hundred 
signs. The Japanese, who borrowed some of the Chinese 
symbols, used them to denote syllables, instead of entire words. 



IO 


The Ages before History 


The Babylonians possessed, in their cuneiform 1 characters, 
signs for about five hundred syllables. The prehistoric in¬ 


habitants of Crete appear to 



Letters 


have been acquainted with a 
somewhat similar system . 2 

The final step in the de¬ 
velopment of writing is 
taken when 
the separate 
sounds of the voice are 
analyzed and each is rep¬ 
resented by a single sign or 
letter. With alphabets of 
a few score letters every 
word in a language may 
easily be written. 

The Egyptians early de¬ 
veloped such an alphabet. 
Unfortunately they never 
gave up their older meth¬ 
ods of writing and learned 
Egyptian hi- to rely upon 
eroglyphics alphabetic 
signs alone. Egyptian 
hieroglyphics 3 are a curious jumble of object-pictures, symbols 
of ideas, and signs for entire words, separate syllables, and 
letters. The writing is a museum of all the steps in the 
development from the picture to the letter. 

As early, apparently, as the tenth century b.c. we find the 
Phoenicians of western Asia in possession of an alphabet. It 
consisted of twenty-two letters, each representing a consonant. 
Phoenician The Phoenicians do not seem to have invented 

alphabet their alphabetic signs. It is generally believed 

that they borrowed them from the Egyptians, but recent dis¬ 
coveries in Crete perhaps point to that island as the source of 
the Phoenician alphabet. 

1 Latin cuneus, “a wedge.” 2 See page 71. 

3 From the Greek words hieros, “holy,” and glyphein, “to carve.” The Egyp* 
tians regarded their signs as sacred. 


A large tablet with linear script found in the 
palace at Gnossus, Crete. There are eight lines 
of writing, with a total of about twenty words. 
Notice the upright lines, which appear to mark 
the termination of each group of signs. 




















Primitive Science and Art 


n 


If they did not originate the alphabet now in use, the Phoeni¬ 
cians did most to spread a knowledge of it in other lands. They 
were bold sailors and traders who bought and sold Diffusion 0 f 
throughout the Mediterranean. Wherever they the Phoenician 
went, they took their alphabet. From the Phoe- alphabet 
nicians the Greeks learned their letters. Then the Greeks 






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4 

5 






2 





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£ 2 * 

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Egyptian and Babylonian Writing 

Below the pictured hieroglyphics in the first line is the same text in a simpler writing 
known as hieratic. The two systems, however, were not distinct; they were as identioal as 
our own printed and written characters. The third line illustrates old Babylonian cunei¬ 
form, in which the characters, like the hieroglyphics, are rude and broken-down pictures of 
objects. Derived from them is the later cuneiform shown in lines four and five. 

taught them to the Romans, from whom other European 
peoples borrowed them . 1 

5. Primitive Science and Art 

We have already seen that prehistoric men in their struggle 
for existence had gathered an extensive fund of information. 
They could make useful and artistic implements F OUn dations 
of stone. They could work many metals into a of scientific 
variety of tools and weapons. They were practi¬ 
cal botanists, able to distinguish different plants and to culti¬ 
vate them for food. They were close students of animal 

1 Our word “alphabet” comes from the names of the first two letters of the 
Greek alphabet, alpha {a) and beta (b). 






































12 


The Ages before History 


life and expert hunters and fishers. They knew how to pro¬ 
duce fire and preserve it, how to cook, how to fashion pottery 
and baskets, how to spin and weave, how to build boats and 
houses. After writing came into general use, all this knowledge 
served as the foundation of science. 

We can still distinguish some of the first steps in scientific 
knowledge. Thus, counting began with calculations on one’s 
Counting and fingers, a method still familiar to children. Finger 
measuring counting explains the origin of the decimal system. 
The simplest, and probably the earliest, measures of length are 
those based on various parts of the body. Some of our Indian 



A Mammoth 


An engraving on a piece of ivory tusk. Found in the rock shelter of La Madeleine, France. 
Represents a woolly mammoth charging. Comparison with the remains of mammoths com¬ 
pletely preserved in the ice of Siberia shows that the Palaeolithic artist accurately delineated 
the animal’s protuberant forehead, hairy covering, and huge, curved tusks. 

tribes, for instance, employed the double arm’s length, the single 
arm’s length, the hand width, and the finger width. Old Eng¬ 
lish standards, such as the span, the ell, and the hand, go back 
to this very obvious method of measuring on the body. 

It is interesting to trace the beginnings of time reckoning and 
of that most important institution, the calendar. Most primi- 
Calculation of tive tribes reckon time by the lunar month, the 
time; the interval between two new moons (about twenty- 
nine days, twelve hours). Twelve lunar months 
give us the lunar year of about three hundred and fifty-four 
days. In order to adapt such a year to the different seasons, 
the practice arose of inserting a thirteenth month from time 






a tomb, or group of tombs, of prehistoric chieftains. 


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Primitive Science and Art 


13 


to time. Such awkward calendars were used in antiquity by 
the Babylonians, Jews, and Greeks; in modern times by the 
Arabs and Chinese. The Egyptians were the only people in 
the Old World to frame a solar year. From the Egyptians it 
has come down, 
through the Ro¬ 
mans, to us . 1 

The study of pre¬ 
historic art takes 
us back Early draw _ 
t O t h e ing and paint- 
early 1112 
Stone Age. The 
men of that age in 
western Europe lived 
among animals such 
as the mammoth, 
cave bear, and 
woolly-haired r h i - 
noceros, which have 
since disappeared, and among many others, such as the lion 
and hippopotamus, which now exist only in warmer climates. 
Armed with clubs, flint axes, and horn daggers, primitive 
hunters killed these fierce beasts and on fragments of their 
bones, or on cavern walls, drew pictures of them. Some of 
these earliest works of art are remarkably lifelike. 

A still later period of the Stone Age witnessed the begin¬ 
nings of architecture. Men had begun to raise Early archi¬ 
ve huge dolmens which are found in various parts tecture 
of the Old World from England to India. They also erected 
enormous stone pillars, known as menhirs. Carved in the 
semblance of a human face and figure, the menhir became a 
statue, perhaps the first ever made. 

As we approach historic times, we note a steady improve¬ 
ment in the various forms of art. Recent discoveries in Egypt, 
Greece, Italy, and other lands indicate that their early inhabit- 

1 See page 186 and note* 2. 



Head of a Girl 

Musee S. Germain, Paris 


A small head of a young girl carved from mammoth 
ivory. Found at Brassempouy, France, in cave deposits 
belonging to the early Stone Age. The hair is arranged 
somewhat after the early Egyptian fashion. Of the fea¬ 
tures the mouth alone is wanting. 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Historic Peoples 15 

ants were able architects, often building on a colossal scale. 
Their paintings and sculptures prepared the way significance 
for the work of later artists. Our survey of the of prehistoric 
origins of art shows us that in this field, as else- art 
where, we must start with the things accomplished by prehis¬ 
toric men. 


6. Historic Peoples 

At the dawn of history the various regions of the world were 

already „ 

Races of man 

m the 

possession of many 
different peoples. 

Such physical char- 
acteristics as the 
shape of the skull, 
the features, stature, 
or complexion may 
serve to distinguish 
one people from 
another. Other 
grounds for distinc¬ 
tion are found in 
language, customs, 
beliefs, and general 
intelligence. 

If we take complexion or color as the basis of classification, 
it is possible to distinguish a few large racial groups. Each of 
these groups occupies, roughly speaking, its sepa- classification 
rate area of the globe. The most familiar classi- of races 
fication is that which recognizes the Black or Negro race dwell¬ 
ing in Africa, the Yellow or Mongolian race whose home is in 
central and eastern Asia, and the White or Caucasian race of 
western Asia and Europe. Sometimes two additional divi¬ 
sions are made by including, as the Red race, the American 
Indians, and as the Brown race, the natives of the Pacific 
islands. 



A dolmen was a single-chambered tomb formed by lay¬ 
ing one long stone over several other stones set upright in 
the ground. Most, if not all, dolmens were originally cov¬ 
ered with earth. 



i6 


The Ages before History 


Semites. 1 


These separate racial groups have made very unequal progress 
in culture. The peoples belonging to the Black, Red, and 
The White Brown races are still either savages or barbarians, as 
race were the men of prehistoric times. The Chinese 

and Japanese are the only representatives of the Yellow race 
that have been able to form civil¬ 
ized states. In the present, as in 
the past, it is chiefly the members of 
the White race who are developing 
civilization and making history. 

Because of differences in language,, 
scholars have divided the White or 
Caucasian race into two 
main groups, called 
Indo-Europeans and 
This classification is often j 
helpful, but the student should re¬ 
member that Indo-European and 
Semitic peoples are not always to be 
sharply distinguished because they 
have different types of language. 
There is no very clear distinction in 
physical characteristics between the 
two groups. A clear skin, an oval face, wavy or curly hair, and 
regular features separate them from both the Negro and the 
Mongolian. 

The Indo-Europeans in antiquity included the Hindus of 
Principal India, the Medes and Persians dwelling on the 
Indo-Euro- plateau of Iran, the Greeks and Italians, and 
pean peoples most 0 f t he inhabitants of central and western 
Europe. All these peoples spoke related languages which are 
believed to be offshoots from one common tongue. Likeness 
in language does not imply that all Indo-Europeans were 

1 The Old Testament ( Genesis, x. 21-22) names Shem (or Sem), son of 
Noah, as the ancestor of the Semitic peoples. The title “ Indo-Europeans ” tells us 
that the members of that group now dwell in India and in Europe. Indo-European 
peoples are popularly called “Aryans,” from a word in Sanskrit (the old Hindu 
language) meaning “noble.” 



Carved Menhir 


From Saint Semin in Aveyron, a 
department of southern France. 






Historic Peoples 17 

closely related in blood. Men often adopt a foreign tongue 
and pass it on to their children. 

The various Semitic nations dwelling in western Asia and 
Arabia were more closely connected with one another. They 
spoke much the same type of language, and in p^ipai 
physical traits and habits of life they appear to Semitic 
have been akin. The Semites in antiquity included p 
the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Hebrews, Phoenicians, and 
Arabs. 



Race Portraiture oe the Egyptians 

Paintings on the walls of royal tombs. The Egyptians were painted red, the Semites 
yellow, the Negroes black, and the Libyans white, with blue eyes and fair beards. Each 
racial type is distinguished by peculiar dress and characteristic features. 

At the opening of the historic period still other parts of the 
world were the homes of various peoples who cannot be classed 
with certainty as either Indo-Europeans or Semites. p e 0 pi es 0 f 
Among these were the Egyptians and some of the pertain re- 
inhabitants of Asia Minor. We must remember 
that, during the long prehistoric ages, repeated conquests and 
migrations mingled the blood of many different communities. 
History, in fact, deals with no unmixed peoples. 






18 


The Ages before History 



Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the areas occupied in antiquity by Semites and 
Indo-Europeans. 2. Find definitions for the following terms: society, nation, 

state, government, institution, culture, and civilization. 3. Explain the abbre¬ 
viations B.c. and a.d. In what century was the year 1924 b.c.? the year 1924 a.d.? 
4. Look up the derivation of the words “paper” and “Bible.” 5. Distinguish 
between the three stages of savagery, barbarism, and civilization, and give examples 
of existing peoples in each stage. 6. Can you name any savages still living in the 
Stone Age? 7. What stone implements have you ever seen? Who made them? 
Where were they? 8. Why should the discovery of fire be regarded as of more 
significance than the discovery of steam? 9. Why has the invention of the bow- 
and-arrow been of greater importance than the invention of gunpowder? 10. How 
does the presence of few tameable animals in the New World help to account for its 
tardier development as compared with the Old World? n. What examples of pas¬ 
toral and agricultural life among the North American Indians are familiar to you? 
12. Give examples of peoples widely different in blood who nevertheless speak the 
same language. 13. In the classification of mankind, where do the Arabs belong? 
the Persians? the Germans? the inhabitants of the United States? 14. Enumerate 
the most important contributions to civilization made in prehistoric times. 




































CHAPTER II 


THE LANDS AND PEOPLES OF THE EAST TO ABOUT 500 B.C. 1 

7. Physical Asia 

Ancient history begins in the East — in Asia and in that part 
of Africa called Egypt, which the peoples of antiquity always 
regarded as belonging to Asia. If we look at a Grand divi- 
physical map of Asia, we see at once that it consists slons of Asia 
of two very unequal divisions separated by an almost continu¬ 
ous mass of mountains and deserts. These two divisions are 
Farther and Nearer, or Eastern and Western, Asia. 

Farther Asia begins at the center of the continent with a 
series of elevated table-lands which rise into the lofty plateaus 
known as the “Roof of the World.” Here two Farther Asia 
tremendous mountain chains diverge. The Altai 
range runs out to the northeast and reaches the shores of the 
Pacific near Bering Strait. The Himalaya range extends 
southeast to the Malay peninsula. In the angle formed by 
their intersection lies the cold and barren region of East Tur¬ 
kestan and Tibet. Some parts of the country exceed fifteen 
thousand feet above the sea. From these mountains and 
plateaus the ground sinks gradually toward the north into the 
lowlands of West Turkestan and Siberia, toward the east and 
south into the plains of China and India. 

The fertile territory of central China, watered by the two 
streams, Yangtse and Hoangho, was settled at a remote period 
by barbarous tribes. The civilization which they China 
slowly developed in antiquity has endured with 
little change until the present day. The inhabitants of neighbor¬ 
ing countries, Korea, Japan, and Indo-China, owe much to 

1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter ii, “The Founders of the 
Persian Empire: Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius.” 

19 



20 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 


this civilization. It has exerted slight influence on the other 
peoples of Asia because the Chinese have always occupied a 
distant corner of the continent, cut off by deserts and mountains 
from the lands on the west. As if these barriers were not enough, 
they raised the Great Wall to protect their country from inva- 



The Great Wall of China 


The wall extends for about fifteen hundred miles along the northern frontier of 
China. In 1908 a.d. it was traversed for its entire length by an American, Mr. W. 
E. Geil. He found many parts of the fortification still in good repair, though built 
twenty-one centuries ago. 


sion. Behind this mighty rampart the Chinese have lived 
secluded and aloof from the progress of our western world. In 
ancient times China was a land of mystery. 

India was better known than China, especially its two great 
rivers, the Indus and the Ganges, which flow to the southwest 
India an d southeast, respectively, and make this part 

of the peninsula one of the most fertile territories 
on the globe. Such a land attracted immigrants. The region 
now known as the Punjab, where the Indus receives the waters 
of five great streams, was settled by light-skinned Indo-Euro¬ 
peans 1 perhaps as early as 2000 b.c. Then they occupied the 
valley of the Ganges and so brought all northern India under 
their control. 


1 See page 16. 




130 THE M. N. WORKS, BUFFALO 
































































# *■. 












































- 




























< - 


. [ 

























21 


Physical Asia 

India did not remain entirely isolated from the rest of Asia. 
The Punjab was twice conquered by invaders from the West; 
by the Persians in the sixth century b.c., 1 and India and the 
about two hundred years later by the Greeks. 2 West 
After the end of foreign rule India continued to be of im¬ 
portance through its commerce, which introduced such luxu¬ 
ries as precious stones, spices, and ivory among the western 
peoples. 

Nearer, or Western Asia, the smaller of the two grand divisions 
of the Asiatic continent, is bounded by the Black an<^ Caspian 
seas on the north, by the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Nearer Asia 
and Indian Ocean on the south, eastward by the 
Indus River, and westward by the Mediterranean and the Nile. 
Almost all the countries within this area played a part in the 
ancient history of the Orient. 

The lofty plateaus of central Asia decline on the west into 
the lower but still elevated region of Iran. The western part of 
Iran was occupied in antiquity by the kindred Countries of 
people known as Medes and Persians. Arme nia, Nearer Asia 
a wild and mountainous region, is an extension to the northwest 
of the Iranian table-land. Beyond Armenia we cross into the 
peninsula of Asia Minor, a natural link between Asia and 
Europe. Southward from Asia Minor we pass along the Med¬ 
iterranean coast through S yria t o Arabia. The Arabian penin¬ 
sula may be regarded as the link between Asia and Africa. 

These five countries of Nearer Asia were not well fitted to 
become centers of early civilization. They possessed no great 
rivers which help to bring people together, and no Influence of 
broad, fertile plains which support a large popu- geographical 
lation. Armenia, Asia Minor, and Syria were 
broken up into small districts by chains of mountains. Iran 
and Arabia were chiefly barren deserts. But two other divisions 
of Nearer Asia resembled distant India and China in the pos¬ 
session of a warm climate, a fruitful soil, and an extensive river 
system. These lands were Babylonia and Egypt, the first 
homes of civilized man. 

1 See page 39. 


2 See page 125. 




22 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 


8. Babylonia and Egypt 

Two famous rivers rise in the remote fastnesses of Armenia — 
the Tigris and the Euphrates. As they flow southward, the 
The Tigris twin streams approach each other to form a 

and the common valley, and then proceed in parallel 

Euphrates channels for the greater part of their course. In 

antiquity each river emptied into the Persian Gulf by a separate j 
mouth. This Tigris-Euphrates valley was called by the Greeks 
Mesopotamia, “the land between the rivers.” 

Babylonia is a remarkably productive country. The annual 
inundation of the rivers has covered its once rocky bottom with , 
Productions deposits of rich silt. Crops planted in such a soil, 

of Babylonia under the influence of a blazing sun, ripen with j 

great rapidity and yield abundant harvests. “Of all the coun¬ 
tries that we know,” says an old Greek traveler, “there is no 
other so fruitful in grain.” 1 Wheat and barley were perhaps 
first domesticated in this part of the world. 2 Wheat still grows 
wild there. Though Babylonia possessed no forests, it had the 
date palm, which needed scarcely any cultivation. If the allu¬ 
vial soil yielded little stone, clay, on the other hand, was every¬ 
where. Molded into brick and afterwards dried in the sun, the 
clay became adobe, the cheapest building material imaginable. 

In Babylonia Nature seems to have done her utmost to make 
Babylonia an it: eas y for People to gain a living. We can under- 
early center stand, therefore, why from prehistoric times men 
of civilization j iave k een attracted to this region, and why it is 
here that we must look for one' of the earliest seats of civiliza¬ 
tion. 3 

Egypt may be described as the valley of the Nile. Rising in 
the Nyanza lakes of central Africa, that mighty stream, before 
Upper and entering Egypt, receives the waters of the Blue 
Lower Egypt Nile near the modern town of Khartum. From 
this point the course of the river is broken by a series of five 


1 Herodotus, i, 193. " 2 See page 8. 

3 It is interesting to note that the Old Testament ( Genesis , ii, 8-15) places 
Paradise, the garden of God and original home of man, in southern Babylonia. 
The ancient name for this district was (Eden). 




23 


Babylonia and Egypt 

rocky rapids, misnamed cataracts, which can be shot by boats. 
The cataracts cease near the island of Philae, and Upper Egypt 
begins. This is a strip of fertile territory, about five hundred 
miles in length but averaging only eight miles in width. Not 
far from modern Cairo the hills inclosing the valley fall away, 
the Nile divides into numerous branches, and Lower Egypt, or 



Phil,® 


The island was originally only a heap of granite bowlders. Retaining walls were built 
around it, and the space within, when filled with rich Nile mud, became beautiful with 
groves of palms and mimosas. As the result of the construction of the Assuan dam, Philae 
and its exquisite temples are now submerged during the winter months, when the reservoir 
is full. 

the Delta, begins. The sluggish stream passes through a region 
of mingled swamp and plain, and at length by three principal 
mouths empties its waters into the Mediterranean. 

Egypt owes her existence to the Nile. All Lower Egypt is a 
creation of the river by the gradual accumulation of sediment 
at its mouths. Upper Egypt has been dug out Egypt the 
of the desert sand and underlying rock by a process ‘^„ of the 
of erosion centuries long. Once the Nile filled all 
the space between the hills that line its sides. Now it flows 
through a thick layer of alluvial mud deposited by the yearly 
inundation. 

The Nile begins to rise in June, when the snow melts on the 
Abyssinian mountains. High-water mark, some thirty feet above 








24 The Lands and Peoples of the East 

the ordinary level, is reached in September. The inhabitants 
Annual inun- then make haste to cut the confining dikes and 
dationofthe to spread the fertilizing water over their fields. 
NUe Egypt takes on the appearance of a turbid lake, 

dotted here and there with island villages and crossed in every 
direction by highways elevated above the flood. Late in Octo¬ 
ber the river begins to subside and by December has returned 
to its normal level. As the water recedes, it deposits that 
dressing of fertile vegetable mold which makes the soil of 
Egypt perhaps the richest in the world. 1 

It was by no accident that Egypt, like Babylonia, became one 
of the first homes of civilized men. Here, as there, every con- 
Egypt an dition made it easy for people to live and thrive, 
early center Food was cheap, for it was easily produced. The 
of civilization p easant nee d ec i 0 nly to spread his seed broadcast 

over the muddy fields to be sure of an abundant return. The 
warm, dry climate enabled him to get along with little shelter 
and clothing. Hence the inhabitants of this favored region 
rapidly increased in number and gathered in populous towns 
and cities. At a time when most of their neighbors were still 
in the darkness of the prehistoric age, the Egyptians had en¬ 
tered the fight of history. 


9. The Babylonians and the Egyptians 

The earliest inhabitants of Babylonia of whom we know any¬ 
thing were a people called Sumerians. They entered the Baby- 
inhabitants Ionian plain through the passes of the eastern 
of Babylonia mountains, three or four thousand years before the 
Christian era. Here they formed a number of independent 
states, each with its capital city, its patron god, and its king. 
After them came Semitic tribes from the deserts of northern 
Arabia. The Semites mingled with the Sumerians and adopted 
Sumerian civilization. 

1 The problem of regulating the Nile inundation so as to distribute the water for 
irrigation when and where it is most needed has been solved by the building of the 
Assuan dam. It lies across the head of the first cataract for a distance of a mile 
and a quarter, and creates a lake two hundred and forty miles in length. This 
great work was completed in 1912 a.d. 


The Babylonians and the Egyptians 25 

Of all the early Babylonian kings the most famous was Ham¬ 
murabi. Some inscriptions still remain to tell how he freed his 
country from foreign invaders and made his native Babylon the 
capital of the en- Hammurabi> 
tire land. This king of Baby- 
city became hence- jooo’b 
forth the real cen¬ 
ter of the Euphrates valley, 
to which, indeed, it gave its 
name. Hammurabi was also an 
able statesman, who sought to 
develop the territories his sword 
had won. He dug great canals 
to distribute the waters of the 
Euphrates and built huge gran¬ 
aries to store the wheat against 
a time of famine. In Babylon 
he raised splendid temples and 
palaces. For all his kingdom 
he published a code of laws, the 
oldest in the world. 1 Thus 
Hammurabi, by making Baby¬ 
lonia so strong and flourishing, 
was able to extend her influence 
in every direction. Her only 
important rival was Egypt. 

The origin of the Egyptians 
is not known with certainty. In physical characteristics they 
resembled the native tribes of northern and inhabitants 
eastern Africa. Their language, however, shows of Egypt 
close kinship to the Semitic tongues of western Asia and Arabia. 
It is probable that the Egyptians, like the Babylonians, arose 
from the mingling of several peoples. 

The history of Egypt commences with the union of the two 
kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes. An ancient 
tradition made him the builder of Memphis, near the head of 



Top op Monument containing 
the Code of Hammurabi 

British Museum, London 

A block of black diorite, nearly 8 feet 
high, on which the code is chiseled in 44 
columns and over 3600 lines. The re¬ 
lief at the top of the monument shows the 
Babylonian king receiving the laws from 
the sun god, who is seated at the right. 


‘ See page so. 











2 6 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 

the Delta, and the founder of the Egyptian monarchy. Scholars 
Menes, king once doubted these exploits and even regarded 
abmit3400 Menes himself as mythical. Recently, however, 
B.c. his tomb has been discovered. In the gray dawn 

of history Menes appears as a real personage, the first of that 



line of kings, or “Pharaohs,” who for nearly three thousand 
years ruled over Egypt. 

Several centuries after Menes we reach the age of the kings 
who raised the pyramids. Probably no other rulers have ever 
stamped their memory so indelibly on the pages of history as 



























The Babylonians and the Egyptians 27 

the builders of these mighty structures. The most celebrated 
monarch of this line was the Pharaoh whom the 

The pyramid 

Greeks called Cheops. The Great Pyramid near kings, about 
Memphis, erected for his tomb, remains a lasting 3000-2500 
witness to his power. 

For a long time after the epoch of the pyramid kings the 
annals of Egypt 

fur- After the 
n i S h py ramid kings 

a record of quiet 
and peaceful prog¬ 
ress. The old city 
of Memphis grad¬ 
ually declined in 
importance and 
Thebes in Upper 
Egypt became the 
capital. The vig¬ 
orous civilization 

growing up in Khufu (Cheops), builder of 
‘ the Great Pyramid 

Egypt was des- 

. , . Two Famo 

tmed, however, to 

suffer a sudden eclipse. About 1800 b.c. barbarous tribes from 
western Asia burst into the country, through the isthmus of 
Suez, and settled in the Delta. The Hyksos, as they are 
usually called, extended their sway over all Egypt. At first 
they ruled harshly, plundering the cities and enslaving the in¬ 
habitants, but in course of time the invaders adopted Egyptian 
culture and their kings reigned like native Pharaohs. The 
Hyksos are said to have introduced the horse and military 
chariot into Egypt. A successful revolt at length expelled 
the intruders and set a new line of Theban monarchs on the 
throne. 

The overthrow of the Hyksos marked a new era in the his¬ 
tory of Egypt. From a home-loving and peace- The Egyptian 
ful people the Egyptians became a warlike race, Empire 
ambitious for glory. The Pharaohs raised powerful armies and 



Menephtah, the supposed 
Pharaoh of the Exodus 

Pharaohs 




28 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 



Imperial 
splendor of 
Egypt 


by extensive conquests created an Egyptian Empire, reaching 
from the Nile to the Euphrates. 

This period of the imperial greatness of Egypt is the most 
splendid in its history. An extensive trade with Cyprus, Crete, 

and other Medi¬ 
terranean islands 
introduced many 
foreign luxuries. The con¬ 
quered territories in Syria paid 
a heavy tribute of the pre¬ 
cious metals, merchandise, 
and slaves. The forced labor 
of thousands of war captives 
enabled the Pharaohs to build 
public works in every part oi 
their realm. Even the ruins 
of these stupendous structures 
are enough to indicate the 
majesty and power of ancient 
Egypt. 

Of all the conquering Pha- 

Rameses II, raohs none won 
about 1292 - more fame than 
1225 B.C. Rameses II, who 

ruled for nearly seventy years. His campaigns in Syria were 
mainly against the Hittites, a warlike people who had moved 
southward from their home in Asia Minor and sought to estab¬ 
lish themselves in the Syrian lands. Rameses does not appear 
to have been entirely successful against his foes. We find him 
at length entering into an alliance with “the great king of the 
Hittites,” by which their dominion over northern Syria was 
recognized. In the arts of peace Rameses achieved a more 
enduring renown. He erected many statues and temples in 
various parts of Egypt and made Thebes, his capital, the most 
magnificent city of the age. 

Rameses II was the last of the great Pharaohs. After his 
death the empire steadily declined in strength. The Asiatic 


Head of Mummy of Rameses II 

Museum of Gizeh 

The mummy was discovered in 1881 a.d. in 
an underground chamber near the site of 
Thebes. With it were the coffins and bodies 
of more than a score of royal personages. 
Rameses II was over ninety years of age at 
the time of his death. In spite of the some¬ 
what grotesque disguise of mummification, the 
face of this famous Pharaoh still wears an 
aspect of majesty and pride. 


The Phoenicians and the Hebrews 29 

possessions fell away, never to be recovered. By 1100 b.c. 
Egypt had been restricted to her former boun- Decline 0 f 
daries in the Nile valley. The Persians, in the the Egyptian 
sixth century, brought the country within their power 
own vast empire. 



The Great Pyramid 


The pyramid when completed had a height of 481 feet. It is now 451 feet high. Its base 
covers about thirteen acres. Some of the blocks of white limestone used in construction 
weigh fifty tons. The facing of polished stone was gradually removed for building pur¬ 
poses by the Arabs. On the northern side of the pyramid a narrow entrance, once care¬ 
fully concealed, opens into tortuous passages which lead to the central vault. Here the 
sarcophagus of the king was placed. This chamber was long since entered and its con¬ 
tents rifled. 


10. The Phoenicians and the Hebrews 

The Phoenicians were the first Syrian people to assume 
importance. Their country was a narrow stretch of coast, 
about one hundred and twenty miles in length, The Phoeni- 
seldom more than twelve miles in width, between cians 
the Lebanon Mountains and the sea. This tiny land could not 
support a large population. As the Phoenicians increased in 
numbers, they were obliged to betake themselves to the sea. 
The Lebanon cedars furnished soft, white wood for shipbuild¬ 
ing, and the deeply indented coast offered excellent harbors. 
Thus the Phoenicians became preeminently a race of sailors. 
Their great cities, Sidon and Tyre, established colonies through¬ 
out the Mediterranean and had an extensive commerce with 
every region of the known world. 



30 The Lands and Peoples of the East 

The Hebrews lived south of Phoenicia in the land of Canaan, 
west of the Jordan River. Their history begins with the emi- 
~ , gration of twelve Hebrew tribes (called Israelites) 
from northern Arabia to Canaan. In their new 
home the Israelites gave up the life of wandering shepherds and 



The Great Sphinx 


This colossal figure, human-headed and lion-bodied, is hewn from the natural rock. The 
body is about 150 feet long, the paws 50 feet, the head 30 feet. The height from the base 
to the top of the head is 70 feet. Except for its head and shoulders, the figure has been 
buried for centuries in the desert sand. The eyes, nose, and beard have been mutilated by 
the Arabs. The face is probably that of one of the pyramid kings. 

became farmers. They learned from the Canaanites to till the 
soil and to dwell in towns and cities. 

The thorough conquest of Canaan proved to be no easy task. 
At first the twelve Israelitish tribes formed only a loose and 
Period of weak confederacy without a common head. “In 

the judges those days there was no king in Israel; every 
man did what was right in his own eyes.” 1 The sole authority 
was that held by valiant chieftains and law-givers, such as 
Samson, Gideon, and Samuel, who served as judges between 
the tribes and often led them in successful attacks upon their 
foes. Among these were the warlike Philistines, who occupied 
the southwestern coast of Canaan. To resist the Philistines 


! Judges, xvii, 6 




The Phoenicians and the Hebrews 31 

with success it was necessary to have a king who could bring 
all the scattered tribes under his firm, well-ordered rule. 

In Saul, “a young man and a goodly,” the warriors of Israel 
found a leader to unite them against their enemies. Reigl i s of 
His reign was passed in constant struggles with Saul and 
the Philistines. David, who followed him, utterly avl 
destroyed the Philistine power and by further conquests 



extended the boundaries of the new state. For a capital city 
he selected the ancient fortress of Jerusalem. Here David 
built himself a royal palace and here he fixed the Ark, the sanc¬ 
tuary of Jehovah. Jerusalem became to the Israelites their 
dearest possession and the center of their national life. 















32 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 

The reign of Solomon, the son and successor of David, was 
the most splendid period in Hebrew history. His kingdom 
stretched from the Red Sea and the peninsula of Sinai north- 
Reign of Sol- war d to the Lebanon Mountains and the Eu- 
omon, about phrates. With the surrounding peoples Solomon 
955-925 B.c. was on terms of friendship and alliance. He mar¬ 
ried an Egyptian princess, a daughter of the reigning Pharaoh. 
He joined with Hiram, king of Tyre, in trading expeditions on 



From a slab found at Nineveh in the palace of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. 
The vessel shown is a bireme with two decks. On the upper deck are soldiers with 
their shields hanging over the side. The oarsmen sit on the lower deck, eight at 
each side. The crab catching the fish is a humorous touch. 


the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The same Phoenician monarch 
supplied him with the “cedars of Lebanon,” with which he 
erected at Jerusalem a famous temple for the worship of Jeho¬ 
vah. A great builder, a wise administrator and governor, 
Solomon takes his place as a typical Oriental despot, the most* 
powerful monarch of the age. 

But the political greatness of the Hebrews was not destined 

„ to endure. The people were not ready to bear the 

Secession of 

the Ten burdens of empire. They objected to the stand- 
925 b B S cf bOUt arm ^’ to f° rce d labor on public buildings, 
and especially to the heavy taxes. The ten 











The Phoenicians and the Hebrews 


33 


northern tribes seceded shortly after Solomon’s death and estab¬ 
lished the independent kingdom of Israel, with its capital at 
Samaria. The two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, 
formed the kingdom of Judea, and remained loyal to the suc¬ 
cessors of Solomon. 



The two small Hebrew kingdoms could not resist their 
powerful neighbors. About two centuries after p ec ii ne of 
the secession of the Ten Tribes, the Assyrians ‘ h o e w f/ brew 
overran Israel. Judea was subsequently conquered 
by the Babylonians. Both countries in the end became a 
part of the Persian Empire. 


























34 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 


11. The Assyrians 

Assyria, lying east of the Tigris River, was colonized at an 
early date by emigrants from Babylonia. After the Assyrians 
Greatness of ^ ree( ^ themselves from Babylonian control, they 
Assyria, entered upon a series of sweeping conquests. 
745-626 B.C. £ ver y Asiatic state felt their heavy hand. The 
Assyrian kings created a huge empire stretching from the Cas¬ 
pian Sea to the Persian Gulf, the 
Mediterranean, and the Nile. For 
the first time in Oriental history 
Mesopotamia and Egypt, with the 
intervening territory, were brought 
under one government. 

This unification of the Orient 
was accomplished only at a fearful 
Character of cost. The records of 
Assyrian rule Assyria are full of ter¬ 
rible deeds — of towns and cities 
without number given to the 
flames, of the devastation of fer¬ 
tile fields and orchards, of the 
slaughter of men, women, and 
children, of the enslavement of 
entire nations. Assyrian mon- 
archs, in numerous inscriptions, 
boast of the wreck and ruin they 
brought to many flourishing lands. 

The treatment of conquered peoples by the Assyrian rulers 
is well illustrated by their dealings with the Hebrews. One of 
Sargon ii, the mightiest monarchs was an usurper, who 
722-705 B.C. ascended the throne as Sargon II. Shortly after 
his succession he turned his attention to the kingdom of Israel, 
which had revolted. Sargon in punishment took its capital 
city of Samaria (722 b.c.) and led away many thousands of the 
leading citizens into a lifelong captivity in distant Assyria. 



An Assybian 

From a Nineveh bas-relief. The 
original is colored. 














































rddm 


-? ''»umjj^iU+A 

,arkand^"*W 

oiA^r 




nN #U’uAS>» 

;l',t)U^pf“"; 

''i"' 


Merv 




Ln\\\Ji ••••0) /// 


1 A. ^ A- 


p'iCd' 


'kUP/j,^ 


3 ^c r r R 

:^c£feS 




^\u him/X-T 


’'"II,, 


'AU// f/> 




p A R T H I A 


*« 


&(t."/,lltt\» v ' 


^ U '/ n \N"H !s n\\''< . 

fdid’d 

AV"' %MV\' 


r*,wv'' 


///, { , nv'l'uy/^, *> 

#/ »/i 


.OUTHWEST moonsoon route- ~to 


Longitude East from Greenwich 60° 


\ 

THE ANCIENT ORIENT 


H Boundaries of the Assyrian Empire 
H Boundaries of the Persian Empire 
— Land routes 
-‘Water routes 

Scale of Miles 


500 


2au of Iran 


p v E R S I A 

V %\t » Pasargadas 

^«i,. 

4‘\ 




THE M.-N.WORKS 











































The Assyrians 35 

The Ten Tribes mingled with the population of that region 
and henceforth disappeared from history. 

Sargon’s son, Sennacherib, though not the greatest, is the 
best known of Assyrian kings. His name is familiar from the 
many references to him in Old Testament writings. Sennacherib, 
An inscription by Sennacherib describes an expedi- 705-681 B * c * 
tion against Hezekiah, king of Judea, who was shut up “like 



An Assyrian Relief 


British Museum, London 

The relief represents the siege and capture of Lachish, a city of the Canaanites, by 
Sennacherib’s troops. Notice the total absence of perspective in this work. 

a caged bird in his royal city of Jerusalem.” Sennacherib, how¬ 
ever, did not capture the place. His troops were swept away 
by a pestilence. The ancient Hebrew writer conceives it as the 
visitation of a destroying angel: “It came to pass that night 
that the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of 
the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand; and 
when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all 
dead bodies.” 1 So Sennacherib departed, and returned with a 
shattered army to Nineveh, his capital. 

Although Assyria recovered from this disaster, its empire 
1 2 Kings , xix, 35. See Byron’s poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib. 












36 The Lands and Peoples of the East 

rested on unstable foundations. The subject races were attached 
Downfall of to t ^ ie ^ r oppressive masters by no ties save those 
Assyria, 606 of force. When Assyria grew exhausted by its 
career of conquest, they were quick to strike a 
blow for freedom. By the middle of the seventh century Egypt 

had secured her in- 
dependence, and 
many other provinces 
were ready to revolt. 
Meanwhile, beyond 
the eastern moun¬ 
tains, the Medes 
were gathering omi¬ 
nously on the Assyr¬ 
ian frontier. The 
storm broke when 
the Median monarch, 
in alliance with the 
king of Babylon, 
moved upon Nineveh 
and captured it. The 
city was utterly de¬ 
stroyed. 

After the conquest 
of the Assyrian Em- 
Partition of pire the 
Assyria victors 

proceeded to divide 
the spoils. The share 
of Media was Assyria itself, together with the long stretch of 
mountain country extending from the Persian Gulf to Asia 
Minor. Babylonia obtained the western hah of the Assyrian 
domains, including the Euphrates valley and Syria. Under its 
famous king, Nebuchadnezzar (604-561 b.c.), Babylonia be¬ 
came a great power in the Orient. It was Nebuchadnezzar 
who brought the kingdom of Judea to an end. He captured 
Jerusalem in 586 b.c., burned the Temple, and carried away 



This Ishtar Gate, Babylon 


Explorations on the site of Babylon have been conducted 
since 1899 a.d. by the German Oriental Society. Large 
parts of the temple area, as well as sections of the royal 
palaces, have been uncovered. The most important struc¬ 
ture found is the Ishtar Gate. The towers which flank it 
are adorned with figures of dragons and bulls in brilliantly 
colored glazed tile. 




The World Empire of Persia 37 

many Jews into captivity. The day of their deliverance, when 
Babylon itself should bow to a foreign foe, was still far distant. 

12 . The World Empire of Persia 

Not much earlier than the break-up of the Assyrian Empire, 
we find a new and vigorous people pressing into western Iran. 
They were the Persians, near kinsmen of the Cyrus the 
Medes. Subjects at first of Assyria, and then Great, 
of Media, they regained their independence and 553 529 B ' C ' 
secured imperial power under a conquering king whom history 



The Tomb of Cyrus the Great 

The mausoleum is built of i m mense marble blocks, joined together without cement. Its 
total height, including the seven steps, is about thirty-five feet. A solitary pillar near the 
tomb still bears the inscription: “ I am Cyrus, the King, the Achsemenian.” 

knows as Cyrus the Great. In 553 b.c. Cyrus revolted against 
the Median monarch and three years later captured the royal 
city of Ecbatana. The Medes and Persians formed henceforth 
a united people. 

The conquest of Media was soon followed by a war with 
the Lydians, who had been allies of the Medes. The throne 
of Lydia, a state in the western part of Asia Conquest of 
Minor, was at this time held by Croesus, the last Lydia by 
and most famous of his line. The king grew so £yrus, 546 
wealthy from the tribute paid by Lydian subjects 
and from his gold mines that his name has passed, into the 
proverb, “rich as Croesus.” He viewed with alarm the rising 



38 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 


power of Cyrus and rashly offered battle to the Persian 
monarch. Defeated in the open field, Croesus shut himself up 
in Sardis, his capital. The city was soon taken, however, and 
with its capture the Lydian kingdom came to an end. 

The downfall of Lydia prepared the way for a Persian attack 
on Babylonia. The conquest of that 
Capture of country proved unexpec- 
Babylon, 539 tedly easy. In 539 b.c. 
B ' C * the great city of Baby¬ 

lon opened its gates to the Persian 
host. Shortly afterwards Cyrus 
issued a decree allowing the Jewish 
exiles there to return to Jerusalem 
and rebuild the Temple, which Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar had destroyed. With the 
surrender of Babylon the last Semitic 
empire in the East came to an end. 
The Medes and Persians, an Indo- 
European people, henceforth ruled 
over a wider realm than ever before 
had been formed in Oriental lands. 

Cyrus was followed by his son, 
Cambyses, a cruel but stronghanded 
despot. Cambyses determined to 
Cambyses, add Egypt to the Per- 
529-522 B.C. s i an dominions. His 
land army was supported by a power¬ 
ful fleet, to which the Phoenicians 
and the Greeks of Cyprus contributed 
ships. A single battle sufficed to 
overthrow the Egyptian power and to 
bring the long rule of the Pharaohs 
to a close. 1 

The reign of Darius, the successor 
of Cambyses, was marked by further extensions of the frontiers. 
An expedition to the distant East added to the empire the region 

1 See page 2 g. 



Darius with his Attend¬ 
ants 

Bas-relief at Persepolis. The 
monarch’s right hand grasps a staff 
or scepter; his left hand, a bunch 
of flowers. His head is surmounted 
by a crown; his body is enveloped 
in the long Median mantle. Above 
the king is a representation of the 
divinity which guarded and guided 
him. In the rear are two Persian 
nobles, one carrying the royal fan, 
the other the royal parasol. 










The World Empire of Persia 39 

of the Punjab, 1 along the upper waters of the Indus. Another 
expedition against the wild Scythian tribes along Darius the 
the Danube led to conquests in Europe and Great, 
brought the Persian dominions close to those of 521-485 B,c * 
the Greeks. Not without reason could Darius describe himself 
in an inscription which still survives, as “the great king, king 
of kings, king of countries, king of all men.” 



Rock Sepulchers of the Persian Kings 

The tombs are those of Darius, Xerxes, and two of their successors. They are 
near Persepolis. 


It was the work of Darius to provide for his dominions a 
stable government which should preserve what the sword had 
won. The problem was difficult. The empire organization 
was a collection of many peoples widely different of the Persian 
in race, language, customs, and religion. Darius Empire 
did not attempt to weld the conquered nations into unity. As 
long as the subjects of Persia paid tribute and furnished troops 
for the royal army, they were allowed to conduct their own 
affairs with little interference from the Great King. 

The entire empire, excluding Persia proper, was divided 
into twenty satrapies, or provinces, each one with its civil 

1 See page 21 . 



40 


The Lands and Peoples of the East 

governor, or satrap. The satraps carried out the laws and col- 
The satrapal lected the heavy tribute annually levied through- 
system out the empire. In most of the provinces there 

were also military governors who commanded the army and 
reported directly to the king. This device of intrusting the 
civil and military functions to separate officials lessened the 
danger of revolts against the Persian authority. As an addi¬ 
tional precaution Darius provided special agents whose busi¬ 
ness it was to travel from province to province and investigate 
the conduct of his officials. It became a proverb that “the 
king has many eyes and many ears.” 

Darius also established a system of military roads throughout 

the Persian dominions. The roads were provided at frequent 

_ . , intervals with inns, where postmen stood always in 

Persian roads 1 _ . _ 

readiness to take up a letter and carry it to the 

next station. The Royal Road from Susa, the Persian capital, 

to Sardis in Lydia was over fifteen hundred miles long; but 

government couriers, using relays of fresh horses, could cover 

the distance within a week. An old Greek writer declares with 

admiration that “ there is nothing mortal more swift than these 

messengers.” 1 

The political history of the East fitly ends with the three 
Persian conquerors, Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, who thus 
Union of the brought into their huge empire every great state 
East under of Oriental antiquity. Medes and Persians, 
Babylonians and Assyrians, Lydians, Syrians, and 
Egyptians — all were at length united under a single dominion. 
In the reign of Darius this united Orient first comes into contact 
with the rising power of the Greek states of Europe. So we 
may leave its history here, resuming our narrative when we 
discuss the momentous conflict between Persia and Greece, 
which was to affect the course, not alone of Persian or Greek, 
but of all European history. 2 


1 Herodotus, viii, 98 . 


2 See chapter v. 


The World Empire of Persia 


4i 


Studies 

1. On the map facing page 20 see what regions of Asia are less than 500 feet 
above sea level; less than 3000 feet; less than 9000 feet; less than 15,000 feet; 
over 15,000 feet. 2. On an outline map of the Orient indicate eight important rivers, 
two gulfs, three inland seas, the great plateaus and plains, the principal mountain 
ranges, two important passes, and the various countries and cities mentioned in 
this chapter. 3. On an outline map draw the boundaries of the Persian Empire 
under Darius, showing what parts were conquered by Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, 
respectively. 4. For what were the following places noted: Jerusalem; Thebes; 
Tyre; Nineveh; and Babylon? 5. For what were the following persons famous: 
Hammurabi; Rameses II; Solomon; Cyrus; Nebuchadnezzar; and Darius? 
6. Define and illustrate these terms: empire, kingdom, province, tributary state, 
satrapy. 7. Identify these dates: 606 b.c.; 539 b.c.; and 546 b.c. 8 . Why was 
India better known in ancient times than China? 9. What modem countries are 
included within the limits of ancient Iran? 10. Why was a canal through the isth¬ 
mus of Suez less needed in ancient times than to-day? n. Can you suggest any 
reasons why the sources of the Nile remained unknown until late in the nineteenth 
century? 12. What is the origin of the name Delta applied to such a region as Lower 
Egypt? 13. Comment on the statement: “Egypt as a geographical expression is 
two things — the Desert and the Nile. As a habitable country it is only one thing — 
the Nile.” 14. Why did the Greek traveler, Herodotus, call Egypt “the gift of 
the Nile”? 15. Distinguish between Syria and Assyria. 16. What is the exact 
meaning of the words, Hebrew, Israelite, and Jew? Describe some features of 
Assyrian warfare (illustration, page 35). 17. What modem countries are included 

within the limits of the Persian Empire under Darius? 



Babylonian Seal 

Seal of Sargon I, who reigned about 2800 b.c. 






CHAPTER III 
ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION 1 

13 . Social Classes 



Our present knowledge of the Orient has been gained within 
recent times. Less than a century ago no one could read the 
Rediscovery written records of the Egyptians and Babylonians, 
of the Orient The decipherment of the Rosetta Stone, which 
contained an inscription in both Greek and hieroglyphics, led 

to the understanding of 
Egyptian writing. Scholars 
later succeeded in inter¬ 
preting the Babylonian 
cuneiform script. Modern 
excavations in the valleys 
of the Nile and the Eu¬ 
phrates have now provided 
them with abundant mate¬ 
rial for study in the shape 
of books and inscriptions. 
As these are gradually de¬ 
ciphered, new light is being thrown on all features of ancient 
Oriental civilization. 


A Royal Name in Hieroglyphics 
(Rosetta Stone) 

The cut shows the symbols contained in one of 
the oval rings, or cartouches, for Ptolemaios, the 
Greek name of King Ptolemy. Each symbol 
represents the initial letter of the Egyptian name 
for the object pictured. The objects in order are: 
a mat, a half-circle, a noose, a lion, a hole, two 
reeds, and a chair-back. The entire hieroglyph 
is read from left to right, as we read words in 
English. 


The Oriental peoples, when their history opens, were living 
under the monarchical form of government. The king, to his 
The king as subjects, was the earthly representative of the 
an autocrat gods. Often, indeed, he was himself regarded as 
divine. The belief in the king’s divine origin made obedience 
to him a religious obligation for his subjects. Every Oriental 


1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter i, “Three Oriental Peoples as 
Described by Herodotus.” 


42 





Social Classes 


43 

monarch was an autocrat. Every Oriental monarchy was a 
despotism. 

The king had many duties. He was judge, commander, and 
high priest, all in one. In time of war, he led his troops and 
faced the dangers of the battle field. During The king’s 
intervals of peace, he was occupied with a constant duties 


round of sacrifices, prayers, and processions, which could not 



An Egyptian Court Scene 

Wall painting, from a tomb at Thebes. Shows a Pharaoh receiving Asiatic envoys bear¬ 
ing tribute. They are introduced by white-robed Egyptian officials. The Asiatics may be 
distinguished by their gay clothes and black, sharp-pointed beards. 

be neglected without exciting the anger of the gods. To his 
courtiers he gave frequent audience, hearing complaints, set¬ 
tling disputes, and issuing commands. A conscientious mon¬ 
arch, such as Hammurabi, who describes himself as “a real 
father to his people,” must have been a very busy man. 

Besides the monarch and the royal family there was generally 
in Oriental countries an upper class of landowners. In Egypt 
the Pharaoh was regarded as sole owner of the land. Nobles and 
Some of it he worked through his slaves, but the priests 
larger part he granted to his favorites, as hereditary estates. 
Such persons may be called the nobles. The different priest¬ 
hoods also had much land, the revenues from which kept up 
the temples where they ministered. In Babylonia, likewise, 
we find a priesthood and nobility supported by the income 
from landed property. 

The middle class included professional men, shopkeepers, 
























44 


Oriental Civilization 


independent farmers, and skilled craftsmen. Though regarded 
The middle as inferiors, still they had a chance to rise in the 
class world. If they became rich, they might hope to 

enter the upper class as priests or government officials. 

No such hopes encouraged the day laborer in the fields or 
shops. His lot was bitter poverty and a life of unending toil. 
Workmen If he was an unskilled workman, his wages were 
and peasants on iy enough to keep him and his family. He 
toiled under overseers who carried sticks and used them freely. 
“Man has a back,” says an Egyptian proverb, “and only obeys 
when it is beaten.” If the laborer was a peasant, he could be 
sure that the nobles from whom he rented the land and the tax 
collectors of the king would leave him scarcely more than a 
bare living. 

At the very bottom of the social ladder were the slaves. 
Every ancient people possessed them. At first they were 
Slaves prisoners of war, who, instead of being slaughtered, 

were made to labor for their masters. At a later 
period people unable to pay their debts often became slaves. 
The treatment of slaves depended on the character of the 
master. A cruel and overbearing owner might make life a 
burden for his bondmen. Escape was rarely possible. Slaves 
were branded like cattle to prevent their running away. Ham¬ 
murabi’s code 1 imposed the death penalty on anybody who 
aided or concealed the fugitives. There was plenty of work for 
the slaves to perform—repairing dikes, digging irrigation canals, 
and erecting vast palaces and temples. The servile class in 
Egypt was not as numerous as in Babylonia, and slavery itself 
seems to have assumed there a somewhat milder form. 

14 . Economic Conditions 

Such fruitful, well-watered valleys as those of the Nile and 
the Euphrates encouraged agricultural life. Farming was the 
Farming occupation. Working people, whether slaves 

or freemen, were generally cultivators of the soil. 
All the methods of agriculture are pictured for us on the monu- 

1 See page 25 . 


Economic Conditions 


45 


ments. We mark the peasant as he breaks up the earth with a 
hoe or plows a shallow furrow with a sharp-pointed stick. We 
see the sheep being driven across sown fields to trample the seed 
into the moist soil. We watch the patient laborers as with hand 
sickles they gather in the harvest and then with heavy flails 
separate the chaff from the grain. Although their methods were 
very clumsy, ancient farmers raised immense crops of wheat 



and barley. The soil of Egypt and Babylonia not only sup¬ 
ported a dense population, but also supplied food for neighboring 
peoples. These two lands were the granaries of the East. 

Many industries of to-day were known in ancient Egypt and 
Babylonia. There were blacksmiths, carpenters, stonecutters, 
workers in ivory, silver, and gold, weavers, potters, Mainl¬ 
and glass blowers. The creations of these ancient factunng 
craftsmen often exhibit remarkable skill. Egyptian linens were 
so wonderfully fine and transparent as to merit the name of 
“woven air.” Babylonian tapestries, carpets, and rugs enjoyed 
a high reputation for beauty of design and color. Egyptian 
glass with its waving lines of different hues was much prized. 
Precious stones were made into beads, necklaces, charms, and 
seals. The precious metals were employed for a great variety 
of ornaments. Egyptian paintings show the goldsmiths at 
work with blowpipe and forceps, fashioning bracelets, rings, and 
diadems, inlaying objects of stone and wood, or covering their 
surfaces with fine gold leaf. The manufacture of tiles and 
glazed pottery was everywhere carried on. Babylonia is be¬ 
lieved to be the original home of porcelain. Enameled bricks 
found there are unsurpassed by the best products of the present 
day. 






Oriental Civilization 


46 


The development of the arts and crafts brought a new indus¬ 
trial class into existence. There was now need of merchants 
and shopkeepers to collect manufactured products 
where they could be readily bought and sold. The 
cities of Babylonia, in particular, became thriving markets. 



A slab from a gallery of Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. The immense block is 
being pulled forward by slaves, who work under the lash. 


Partnerships between tradesmen were numerous. We even 
hear of commercial companies. Business life in ancient Baby¬ 
lonia wore, indeed, quite a modern look. 

Metallic money first circulated in the form of rings and bars. 
The Egyptians had small pieces of gold — “cow gold” — each 

of which was simply the value of a full-grown cow. 1 
Money T . . . . . 

It was necessary to weigh the metal whenever a 

purchase took place. A common picture on the Egyptian 

monuments is that of the weigher with his balance and scales. 

Then the practice arose of stamping each piece of money with 

its true value and weight. The next step was coinage proper, 

1 See page 6. 


































Commerce and Trade Routes 47 

where the government guarantees, not only the weight, but 

also the genuineness of the metal. 

The honor of the invention of coinage is generally given to 

the Lydians, whose country was well supplied with the precious 

metals. As early as „ . 

J Coinage 

the eighth century b.c. 

the Lydian monarchs began to 
strike coins of electrum, a natural 
alloy of gold and silver. The fa¬ 
mous Croesus, 1 whose name is still 
a synonym for riches, was the first 
to issue coins of pure gold and sil¬ 
ver. The Greek neighbors of Lydia 
quickly adopted the art of coinage 

and so introduced it into Europe. 2 .. 

, ,. , Egyptian weighing Cow 

The use of money as a medium of Gold „ 

exchange led naturally to a system 

of banking. In Babylonia, for instance, the bankers formed 
an important and influential class. One great Banking 
banking house, established at Babylon before 
the age of Sennacherib, carried on operations for several cen¬ 
turies. Hundreds of legal documents belonging to this firm 
have been discovered in the huge earthenware jars which served 
as safes. The Babylonian temples also received money on de¬ 
posit and loaned it out again, as do our modern banks. Knowl¬ 
edge of the principles of banking passed from Babylonia to 
Greece and thence to ancient Italy and Rome. 

15 . Commerce and Trade Routes 

The use of the precious metals as money greatly aided the ex¬ 
change of commodities between different countries. The cities 
of the Tigris-Euphrates valley were admirably situ- Asiatic com¬ 
ated for commerce, both by sea and land. They merce 
enjoyed a central position between eastern and western Asia. 
The shortest way by water from India skirted the southern 

1 See page 37 . 

2 For illustrations of Oriental coins see the plate facing page 134 . 
















48 


Oriental Civilization 


coast of Iran and, passing up the Persian Gulf, gained the 
valley of the two great rivers. Even more important for trade 
and commerce were the overland roads from China and India 
which met at Babylon and Nineveh. Along these routes 
traveled long lines of caravans laden with the products of 
the distant East — gold and ivory, jewels and silks, tapes¬ 
tries, spices, and fine woods. Still other avenues of commerce 



On the left are shown three villagers who have failed to pay their taxes and who are being 
brought in by officers. The latter carry staves as signs of their authority. On the right sit 
the scribes, holding in one hand a sheet of papyrus and in the other hand a pen. The 
scribes kept records of the amount owed by each taxpayer and issued receipts when the taxes 
were paid. 


radiated to the west and entered Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, 
where there was a constant demand for the products of the 
East. These trade routes were followed for hundreds of years, 
and many of them are in use even to-day. 

While the inhabitants of Babylonia and Assyria were able to 
control the trade and caravan routes of Asia, it was reserved 
Commerce for a Syrian people, the Phoenicians, to become 
With Europe the pj oneers 0 f commerce with the early inhabi¬ 
tants of Europe. As early as 1500 b.c. the rich copper mines 
of Cyprus attracted Phoenician colonists to this island. 1 
From Cyprus these bold mariners and keen business men 
passed over to Crete, thence along the shores of Asia Minor 
to the Greek mainland, and possibly as far as the Black Sea. 
Some centuries later the Phoenicians were driven from these 
regions by the rising power of the Greek states. Then they 


See page 4 . 







































































































































Commerce and Trade Routes 


49 


sailed farther westward and established their trading posts in 
Sicily, Africa, and Spain. At length they passed through the 
strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic and visited the shores of 
western Europe and Africa. 

The Phoenicians obtained a great variety of products from 
their widely scattered settlements. The mines of Spain yielded 
tin, lead, and silver. The tin was especially Phoenician 
valuable because of its use in the manufacture imports and 
of bronze. 1 From Africa came ivory, ostrich exports 
feathers, and gold; from Arabia, incense, perfumes, and costly 
spices. The Phoenicians found a ready sale for these com¬ 
modities throughout the East. Still other products were 
brought directly to Phoenicia to provide the raw materials 
for her flourishing manufactures. The fine carpets and glass¬ 
ware, the artistic works in silver and bronze, and the beau¬ 
tiful purple cloths 2 produced by Phoenician factories were 
exported to every region of the known world. 

The Phoenicians were the boldest sailors of antiquity. Some 
of their long voyages are still on record. We learn from the 
Bible that they made cruises on the Red Sea and p hoen i c i an 
Indian Ocean and brought the gold of Ophir voyages of 
“four hundred and twenty talents” — to Solomon. 3 e p 0 
There is even a story of certain Phoenicians who, by direction 
of an Egyptian king, explored the eastern coast of Africa, 
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and after three years’ absence 
returned to Egypt through the strait of Gibraltar. A much 
more probable narrative is that of the voyage of Hanno, a 
Carthaginian admiral. We still possess a Greek translation of 
his interesting log book. It describes an expedition made 
about 500 b.c. along the western coast of Africa. The explorers 
seem to have sailed as far as the country now called Sierra 
Leone. Nearly two thousand years elapsed before a similar 
voyage along the African coast was undertaken. 

1 See page 5. 

2 “Tyrian purple” was a dye secured from a species of shellfish found along the 
Phoenician coast and in Greek waters. 

3 See 1 Kings, ix, 26 - 28 . The site of Ophir is not known, though probably it 
was in southern Arabia. 


5 ° 


Oriental Civilization 


Wherever the Phoenicians journeyed, they established settle¬ 
ments. Most of these were merely trading posts which con- 
Phoenician tained the warehouses for the storage of their 

settlements goods. Here the shy natives came to barter 
their raw materials for the finished products — cloths, tools, 
weapons, wine, and oil — which the strangers from the East 
had brought with them. Phoenician settlements sometimes 
grew to be large and flourishing cities. The colony of Gades 
in southern Spain, mentioned in the Old Testament as Tar- 
shish, 1 survives to this day as Cadiz. The city of Carthage, 
founded in North Africa by colonists from Tyre, became the 
commercial mistress of the Mediterranean. Carthaginian 
history has many points of contact with that of the Greeks and 
Romans. 

16. Law and Morality 

It is clear that societies so highly organized as Phoenicia, 
Egypt, and Babylonia must have been held together by the 
Babylonian firm bonds of law. The ancient Babylonians, 
contracts especially, were a legal-minded people. When a 

man sold his wheat, bought a slave, married a wife, or made a 
will, the transaction was duly noted on a contract tablet, 
which was then filed away in the public archives. Instead of 
writing his name, a Babylonian stamped his seal on the wet 
clay of the tablet. Every man who owned property had to have 
a seal. 

The earliest laws were, of course, unwritten. They were no 
more than the long-established customs of the community. As 
Code of civilization advanced, the usages that generally 
Hammurabi prevailed were written out and made into legal 
codes. A recent discovery has given to us the almost complete 
text of the laws which Hammurabi, the Babylonian king, 
ordered to be engraved on stone monuments and set up in all 
the chief cities of his realm. 2 

The code of Hammurabi shows, in general, a high sense of 

1 See Ezekiel, xxvii, 12, 25. 

2 A monument containing the code of Hammurabi was found on the site of Susa 
in 1901-1902 a.d. See the illustration, page 25. 


Law and Morality 


5i 


justice. A man who tries to bribe a witness or a judge is to be 
severely punished. A farmer who is careless with Sub j ect mat _ 
his dikes and allows the water to run through ter of Ham- 
and flood his neighbor’s land must restore the murabl ’ s code 
value of the grain he has damaged. The owner of a vicious ox 
which has gored a man 
must pay a heavy fine, 
provided he knew the 
disposition of the ani¬ 
mal and had not 
blunted its horns. A 
builder who puts up a 
shaky house which 
afterwards collapses 
and kills the tenant is 
himself to be put to 
death. On the other 
hand, the code has some 
rude features. Punish¬ 
ments were severe. For 
injuries to the body 
there was the simple 
rule of retaliation — an 
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a limb for a limb. A son 
who had struck his father was to have his hands cut off. The 
nature of the punishment depended, moreover, on the rank of 
the aggrieved party. A person who had caused the loss of a 
“gentleman’s” eye was to have his own plucked out; but if 
the injury was done to a poor man, the culprit had only to 




Babylonian Contract Tablet 

The actual tablet is on the right; on the left is 
hollow clay case or envelope. 


pay a fine. 

Hammurabi’s laws thus present a vivid picture of Oriental 
society two thousand years before Christ. They always re¬ 
mained the basis of the Babylonian and Assyrian i mpor t an ce 
legal system. They were destined, also, to exert of Hammu- 
a considerable influence upon Hebrew legislation. 

Centuries after Hammurabi the enactments of the old Baby¬ 
lonian king were reproduced in some of the familiar regulations 







52 


Oriental Civilization 


of the laws of Moses. In this way they became the heritage 
of the Hebrews and, through them, of our modern world. 

The laws which we find in the earlier books of the Bible were 
ascribed by the Hebrews to Moses. These laws covered a 
The Mosaic wide range of topics. They fixed all religious 
code ceremonies, required the observance every seventh 

day of the Sabbath, dealt with marriage and the family, stated 
the penalties for wrongdoing, gave elaborate rules for sacrifices, 
and even indicated what foods must be avoided as “unclean.” 
No other ancient people possessed so elaborate a code. The 
Jews throughout the world obey, to this day, its piecepts. 
And modern Christendom still recites the Ten Commandments, 
the noblest summary of the rules of right living that has come 
down to us from the ancient world. 


17. Religion 

Oriental ideas of religion, even more than of law and morality, 
were the gradual outgrowth of beliefs held by the Asiatic peoples 
Nature wor- in prehistoric times. Everywhere nature worship 
ship prevailed. The vault of heaven, earth and ocean, 

sun, moon, and stars were all regarded either as themselves 
divine or as the abode of divinities. The sun was an object of 
especial adoration. We find a sun god, under different names, 
in every Oriental country. 

Another inheritance from prehistoric times was the belief in 
evil spirits. In Babylonia and Assyria this superstition became 
Babylonian a prominent feature of the popular religion. Men 
belief in evil supposed themselves to be constantly surrounded 
by a host of demons which caused insanity, sick¬ 
ness, disease, and death — all the ills of life. People lived in 
constant fear of offending these malignant beings. 

To cope with evil spirits the Babylonian used magic. He put 
up a small image of a protecting god at the entrance to his 
Magic house and wore charms upon his person. If he 

felt ill, he went to a priest, who recited a long 
incantation supposed to drive out the “devil” afflicting the 
patient. The reputation of the Babylonian priests was so wide- 


Religion S 3 

spread that in time the name “Chaldean” 1 came to mean one 
who is a magician. Some of their magical rites were borrowed 
by the Jews, and later by the Romans, from whom they entered 
Christian Europe. 

Another Babylonian 
practice which spread 
westward was that of 
divination, particu- 
larly by inspecting the 
entrails of animals 
slain in sacrifice. This 
was a very common 
method of divination 
among the Greeks and 
Romans. 2 

Astrology received 
much attention. It was believed that the five planets, comets, 
and eclipses of the sun and moon exerted an in- Astrology 
fluence for good or evil on the life of man. Baby¬ 
lonian astrology likewise extended to western lands and became 
popular among the Greeks and Romans. Some of it survives 
to the present time. When we name the days Saturday, 
Sunday, and Monday, we are unconscious astrologers, for in 
old belief the first day belonged to the planet Saturn, the 
second to the sun, and the third to the moon. 3 Superstitious 
people who try to read their fate in the stars are really prac¬ 
ticing an art of Babylonian origin. 

Less influential in later times was the animal worship of the 
Egyptians. This, too, formed a heritage from the prehistoric 
past. Many common animals of Egypt — the cat, Egyptian ani- 
the hawk, the jackal, the bull, the ram, the croco- mal worship 
dil e _ were highly reverenced. Some received worship be¬ 
cause deities were supposed to dwell in them. The larger 

i Chaldea was another name for Babylonia. 2 See page 148. 

3 The names of four other week days come from the names of old Teutonic deities. 
Tuesday is the day of Tyr, Wednesday of Woden (Odin), Thursday of Thunor 
(Thor), and Friday of the goddess Frigga. 



An Egyptian Scarab 


The beetle, as a symbol of birth and resurrection, and 
hence of immortality, enjoyed much reverence in ancient 
Egypt. A scarab, or image of the beetle, was often 
worn as a charm and was placed in the mummy as an 
artificial heart. 











54 


Oriental Civilization 



number, however, were not worshiped for themselves, but as 
symbols of different gods. 

In the midst of such an assemblage of nature deities, spirits, 
and sacred animals, it was remark- 
Monotheism able that the belief in 
in Persia one g 0 d should ever 
have arisen. The Medes and Per¬ 
sians accepted the teachings of 
Zoroaster, a great prophet who lived 
perhaps as early as 1000 b.c. Ac¬ 
cording to Zoroaster, Ahuramazda, 
the heaven-deity, is the maker and 
upholder of the universe. He is a 
god of light and order, of truth and 
purity. Against him stands Ahri- 
man, the personification of darkness 
and evil. Ahuramazda in the end 
will overcome Ahriman and will 
reign supreme in a righteous world. 
Zoroastrianism was the only mono¬ 
theistic religion developed by an 
Indo-European people. 1 

The Hebrews, alone among the Semitic peoples of antiquity, 
were to develop the worship of their god, Jehovah, into a lasting 
Hebrew mon- monotheism. This was a long and gradual proc- 
otheism e ss. Jehovah was at first regarded as the pecu¬ 
liar divinity of the Hebrews. His worshipers did not deny 
the existence of the gods of other nations. From the eighth 
century onward this narrow conception of Jehovah was trans¬ 
formed by the labors of the Hebrew prophets. They taught 
that Jehovah was the creator and ruler of the world and the 
loving father of all mankind. On Hebrew monotheism two 

1 Zoroastrians are still to be found in the East. In Persia, now a Mohammedan 
country, there is a little band of devoted followers of Zoroaster, who keep up to this 
day the tenets of their ancient faith. In India the Parsees of Bombay are the 
descendants of those Persians who fled from Persia at the time of the Mo¬ 
hammedan conquest, rather than surrender their cherished beliefs and embrace 
a new religion. 


Amenhotep IV 

A striking likeness of an Egyptian 
king (reigned about 1375-1358 b.c.) 
who endeavored to introduce mono¬ 
theism in Egypt by abolishing the 
worship of all gods except the sun 
god. This religious revolution ended 
in failure, for after the king’s death 
the old deities were restored to honor. 


Religion 55 

world religions have been founded — Mohammedanism and 
Christianity. 

We do not find among the early Hebrews or any other Oriental 
people very clear ideas about the life after death. The Egyp¬ 
tians long believed Egyptian 

that the soul of the ideas of the 
j , • 1 j • future life 

dead man resided m 

or near the tomb, closely asso¬ 
ciated with the body. This notion 
seems to have first led to the 
practice of embalming the corpse, 
so that it might never suffer de¬ 
cay. If the body was not pre¬ 
served, the soul might die, or it 
might become a wandering ghost, 
restless and dangerous to the liv¬ 
ing. Later Egyptian thought re¬ 
garded the future state as a place 
of rewards and punishments. 

One of the chapters of the work 
called the Book of the Dead de¬ 
scribes the judgment of the soul 
in the spirit world. If a man in 
the earthly life had not murdered, 
stolen, coveted the property of others, blasphemed the gods, 
borne false witness, ill treated his parents, or committed certain 
other wrongs, his soul would enjoy a blissful immortality. 

Some Oriental peoples kept the primitive belief that after 
death all men, good and bad alike, suffered the same fate. The 
Babylonians supposed that the souls of the de- Babylonian 
parted passed a cheerless existence in a gloomy and Hebrew 
underworld. The early Hebrew idea of Sheol, 

‘‘the land of darkness and the shadow of death,” 1 
was very similar. Such thoughts of the future life left noth¬ 
ing for either fear or hope. In later times, however, the 
Hebrews came to believe in the resurrection of the dead 

* Job , X. 21. 



Mummy and Cover of 
Coffin 

U. S. National Museum, Washington. 







56 Oriental Civilization 

and the last judgment, conceptions afterwards adopted by 
Christianity. 

18 . Literature and Art 

Religion inspired the largest part of ancient literature. Each 
Oriental people possessed sacred writings. The Egyptian Book 
The Egyptian °f Bmd was already venerable in 3000 B.c. 
Book of the It was a collection of hymns, prayers, and magical 
Dead phrases to be recited by the soul on its journey 

beyond the grave and in the spirit world. A chapter from this 
work usually covered the inner side of the mummy case. 



The Judgment of the Dead 

From a papyrus containing the Book of the Dead. The illustration shows a man 
and his wife (at the left) entering the hall in the spirit world, where sits the god of 
the dead with forty-two jurors (seen above) as his assistants. The heart of the man, 
symbolized by a jar, is being weighed in balances by a jackal-headed god against a 
feather, the symbol of truth. The monster in the right-hand comer stands ready to 
devour the soul, if the heart is found lighter than the feather. 


Much more interesting are the two Babylonian epics, frag¬ 
ments of which were found on clay tablets in a royal library 
The Babylo- at Nineveh. The epic of the Creation tells how 
man epics the g 0( j Marduk overcame a terrible dragon, the 
symbol of primeval chaos, and thus established order in the 
universe. Then with half the body of the dead dragon he made 
a covering for the heavens and set therein the stars. Next he 
caused the new moon to shine and made it the ruler of the night. 
His last work was the creation of man, in order that the service 
and worship of the gods might be established forever. The 



































Literature and Art 


57 



second epic contains an account of a flood, sent by the gods to 
punish sinful 
men. The rain 
fell for six days 
and nights and 
covered the entire 
earth. All men 
were drowned ex¬ 
cept the Baby¬ 
lonian Noah, his 
family, and his 
relatives, who 
safely rode the 
waters in an ark. 

This ancient nar¬ 
rative so closely 
resembles the 
Bible story in Genesis that we must trace them both to a com- 


The Deluge Tablet 

British Museum, London 
Contains the narrative of the flood as pieced together and 
published by George Smith in 1872 a.d. 
fragments in the restoration. 


There are sixteen 


mon source. 

All these writings are so ancient that their very authors are 



An Egyptian Temple (Restored) 


The building extended along the Nile for nearly eight hundred feet. A double line of 
sphinxes led to the only entrance, in front of which were two obelisks and four colossal 
statues of Rameses II. Behind the first gateway, or pylon, came an open court surrounded 
by a portico upheld by pillars. The second and third pylons were connected by a covered 
passage leading into another open court. Lower rooms at the rear of the temple contained 
the sanctuary of the god, which only the king and priests could enter. 






















































Oriental Civilization 


58 


forgotten. The interest they excite is historical rather than 
The Hebrew literary. From Oriental antiquity only one great 
Bible work has reached us that still has power to move 

the hearts of men — the Hebrew Bible. 

Architecture, in Egypt, was the leading art. The Egyptians 
were the first people who learned to raise 
Egyptian buildings with vast halls 

architecture supported by ponderous col¬ 
umns. Their wealth and skill, however, 
were not lavished in the erection of fine 
private mansions or splendid public 
buildings. The characteristic works of 
Egyptian architecture are the tombs of 
the kings and the temples of the gods. 
The picture of the great structure at 
Thebes, which Rameses II completed, 1 
will give some idea of an Egyptian tem¬ 
ple with its gateways, open courts, ob¬ 
elisks, and statues. 

The architecture of Babylonia and 
Assyria was totally unlike that of Egypt, 
Architecture because brick, and not stone, 
in Babylonia formed the chief building 
and Assyria material. In Babylonia the 
temple was a solid, square tower, built on 
a broad platform. It consisted usually 
of seven stages, which arose one above the 
other to the top, where the shrine of the 
deity was placed. The different stages were connected by an 
inclined ascent. The four sides of the temple faced the cardi¬ 
nal points, and the several stages were dedicated to the sun, 
moon, and five planets. In Assyria the characteristic building 
was the palace. But the sun-dried bricks, of which both tem¬ 
ples and palaces were composed, lacked the durability of stone 
and have long since dissolved into shapeless mounds. 

The surviving examples of Egyptian sculpture consist of 

1 See page 28. 



An Egyptian Wooden 
Statue 

Museum of Gizeh 
Found in a tomb near 
Memphis. The statue, 
which belongs to the age of 
the pyramid kings, represents 
a bustling, active, middle- 
class official. 



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Literature and Art 


59 

bas-reliefs and figures in the round, carved from limestone and 
granite or cast in bronze. Many of the statues Egyptian 
appear to our eyes very stiff and ungraceful. The scul P ture 
sculptor never learned how to pose his figures easily or how to 
arrange them in an artistic group. In spite of these defects 
some Egyptian statues are wonderfully lifelike . 1 



An Assyrian Palace (Restored) 

The royal residence of Sargon II near Nineveh was placed upon a high platform of 
brick masonry, the top of which was gained by stairs and an inclined roadway. The 
palace consisted of a series of one-storied rectangular halls and long corridors surround¬ 
ing inner courts. They were provided with imposing entrances, flanked by colossal 
human-headed bulls, representing guardian spirits. The entire building covered more 
than twenty-three acres and contained two hundred apartments. In the rear is seen 
a temple-tower. 

Few examples have reached us of Babylonian and Assyrian 
sculpture in the round. As in Egypt, the figures seem rigid and 
out of proportion. The Assyrian bas-reliefs show sculpture in 
a higher development of the artistic sense, espe- Babylonia^ 
daily in the rendering of animals. The sculptures an ssyna 
that deal with the exploits of the kings in war and hunting often 
tell their story in so graphic a way as to make up for the absence 
of written records. 

Painting in the ancient East did not reach the dignity of an 

» See the illustrations, pages 27, 54, 58, 63. 




6 o 


Oriental Civilization 


independent art. It was employed solely for decorative pur- 

were often brightly 
Oriental colored, 

painting The ar¬ 

tist had no knowledge 
of perspective and 
drew all his figures in 
profile, without any 
distinction of light 
and shade. Indeed, 
Oriental painting, as 
well as Oriental sculp¬ 
ture, made small pre¬ 
tense to the beautiful. 
Beauty was born into 
the world with the art 
of the Greeks. 

19 . Science and 
Education 

Conspicuous ad^ 
vance took place in 
the exact sciences. The leading operations of arithmetic were 
Arithmetic known. A Babylonian tablet gives a table of 
and geometry S q Uares an d cubes correctly calculated from i to 60. 
The number 12 was the basis of all reckonings. The division 
of the circle into degrees, minutes, and seconds (360°, 60', 60") 
was an invention of the Babylonians which illustrates this duo¬ 
decimal system. A start was made in geometry. One of the 
oldest of Egyptian books contains a dozen geometrical prob¬ 
lems. This knowledge was afterwards developed into a true 
science by the Greeks. 

In both Egypt and Babylonia the cloudless skies and still, 

warm nights early led to astronomical research. 
Astronomy 0 . , _ , . 

At a remote period, perhaps before 4000 b.c., the 

Egyptians framed a solar calendar, 1 consisting 6f twelve 

* See page 13. 


poses. Bas-reliefs and wall surfaces 



An Assyrian Winged Human-headed Bull 







Science and Education 


61 


months, each thirty days in length, with five extra days at the 
end of the year. This calendar was taken over by the Romans, 1 
who added the system of leap years. The Babylonians made 
noteworthy progress in some branches of astronomy. They 
were able to trace the course of the sun through the twelve con¬ 
stellations of the zodiac and to distinguish five of the planets 
from the fixed stars. The successful prediction of eclipses 



British Museum, London 
A bas-relief from a slab found at Nineveh. 

formed another Babylonian achievement. Such astronomical 
discoveries must have required much patient and accurate 
observation. 

Geographical ideas for a long time were very crude. An 
ancient map, scratched on clay, indicates that about eight 
centuries before Christ the Babylonians had Geography 
gained some knowledge, not only of their own 
land, but even of regions beyond the Mediterranean. The 
chief increase in man’s knowledge of the world in ancient times 
was due to the Phoenicians. 2 

The skill of Oriental peoples as mechanics and engineers is 
proved by their success as builders. The great practical 
pyramids exactly face the points of the compass. sciences 
The principle of the round arch was known in Babylonia 

* See page 48. 


1 See page 186, note 2. 


62 


Oriental Civilization 


at a remote period. The transportation of colossal stone 
monuments exhibits a knowledge of the lever, pulley, and in¬ 
clined plane . 1 Babylonian inventions were the sundial and the 

water clock, the one 
to register the passage 
of the hours by day, 
the other by night. 
The Egyptians and 
Babylonians also 
made some progress 
in the practice of 
medicine. 

The schools, in both 
Egypt and Babylonia, 
The temple Were at- 

sch ° o1 t ached 

to the temples and 
were conducted by 
the priests. Writing 
was the chief subject 
of instruction. It 
took many years of 
patient study to 
master the cuneiform 
symbols or the even 
more difficult hiero¬ 
glyphics. “He who 
would excel in the 
school of the scribes,” 
ran an ancient 
maxim, “must rise 
with the dawn.” 
Writing was learned by imitating the examples supplied in 
copy-books. Some of the model letters studied by Egyptian 
boys of the twentieth century b.c. have come down to us. 
Reading, too, was an art not easy to learn. Dictionaries and 

1 See the illustration, page 46. 



A Babylonian Map of the World 

A tablet of dark brown clay, much injured, dating from 
the 8th or 7th century b.c. The two large concentric cir¬ 
cles indicate the ocean, or, as it is called in the cuneiform 
writing between the circles, the “ Briny Flood.” Beyond 
the ocean are seven successive projections of land, repre¬ 
sented by triangles. Perhaps they refer to the countries 
existing beyond the Black Sea and the Red Sea. The 
two parallel lines within the inner circle represent the 
Euphrates. The little rings stand for the Babylonian 
cities in this region. 


Science and Education 63 

grammars were written to aid the beginner. A little instruc¬ 
tion was also provided in counting and calculating. 

Having learned to read and write, the pupil was ready to 

enter on the coveted career of a scribe. In a community where 

nearly every one 

. J The scribes 

was illiterate, the 

scribes naturally held an honor¬ 
able place. They conducted the 
correspondence of the time. 

When a man wished to send a 
letter, he had a scribe write it, 
signing it himself by affixing his 
seal. When he received a letter, 
he usually employed a scribe to 
read it to him. The scribes 

were also kept busy copying 
books on the papyrus paper or 
clay tablets which served as writing materials. 

Every large city of Babylonia possessed a collection of books. 
Several of the larger libraries have been discovered. At 
Nippur, in Babylonia, thirty thousand clay tablets The temple 
were found. Another great collection of books llbrar y 
was unearthed in a royal palace at Nineveh. This Assyrian 
library seems to have been open for the general use of the 
king’s subjects. The Egyptians also had their libraries, 
usually as adjuncts to the temples, and hence under priestly 
control. 

Learning and education were so closely limited to a few in¬ 
dividuals that the mass of the people were sunk in deepest 
ignorance. Men could not pursue knowledge for Wi d eS pread 
themselves, but had to accept everything on author- popular igno- 
ity. Hence the inhabitants of Oriental lands 
remained a conservative folk, slow to abandon their time- 
honored beliefs and very unwilling to adopt a new custom even 
when clearly better than the old. This absence of popular 
education, more than anything else, made Oriental civilization 
unprogressive. 



An Egyptian Scribe 

Louvre, Paris 



6 4 


Oriental Civilization 



Excavations at Nippur 

Nippur was the ancient “ Calneh in the land of Shinar ” ( Genesis , x, io). Excavations 
here were conducted by the University of Pennsylvania during 1889-1900 a.d. The city 
contained an imposing temple, a library, a school, and even a little museum of antiquities. 

Studies 

1. What was the origin of the “divine right” of kings? 2. Explain what is 
meant by despotism; by autocracy. 3. What European state comes nearest to being 
a pure despotism? What European monarch styles himself as an autocrat? 4. 
What do the illustrations on pages 38, 43 tell about the pomp of Oriental kings? 
5. Why did the existence of numerous slaves in Egypt and Babylonia tend to keep 
low the wages of free workmen? Why is it true that civilization may be said to 
have begun “with the cracking of the slave whip”? 6. What light is thrown on 
the beginnings of money in ancient Egypt by the illustration on page 47? 7. 

Name some objects which, in place of the metals, are used by primitive peoples as 
money. 8. Interest in Babylonia was usually at the rate of 20% a year. Why is 
it so much lower to-day? 9. On the map between pages 34-35 indicate the trade 
routes between eastern and western Asia which met in Mesopotamia. 10. The 
Phoenicians have been called “the English of antiquity.” Can you give any reason 
for this characterization? 11. Why should the Phoenicians have been called the “ co¬ 
lossal peddlers” of the ancient world? 12. What books of the Bible contain the laws 
of Israel? 13. What reasons can you suggest for the universal worship of the sun? 
14. Define polytheism and monotheism, giving examples of each. 15. Describe 
the Egyptian conception of the judgment of the dead (illustration, page 56). 
16. How many “books” are there in the Old Testament? 17. What is the Apocry¬ 
pha? 18. How are the pyramids proof of an advanced civilization among the 
Egyptians? 19. What is a bas-relief? Select some examples from the illustrations. 
20. From what Oriental peoples do we get the oldest true arch? the first coined 
money? the earliest legal code? the most ancient book? 21. Enumerate the most 
important contributions to civilization made in Oriental antiquity. 






CHAPTER IV 


THE LANDS OF THE WEST AND THE RISE OF, 
GREECE TO ABOUT 500 B.C. 1 

20. Physical Europe 

The continent of Asia, projecting its huge bulk southwest- 
ward between the seas, gradually narrows into the smaller 
continent of Europe. The boundary between the Europe a 
two regions is not well defined. Ancient geogra- P f ei ^ ula 
pliers found a convenient dividing line north of 
the Black Sea in the course of the river Don. Modern map 
makers usually place the division at the Ural Mountains, the 
Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus. Each of these boundaries 
is more or less arbitrary. In- a geographical sense Europe is 
only the largest of the great Asiatic peninsulas. 

But in physical features the two continents disclose the most 
striking contrasts. The sea, which washes only the remote 
edges of Asia, penetrates deeply into Europe and physical fea- 
forms an extremely irregular coast line with numer- ^esof 
ous bays and harbors. The mountains of Europe, 
seldom very high and provided with easy passes, present no 
such barriers to intercourse as the mightier ranges of Asia. We 
miss in Europe the extensive deserts and barren table-lands 
which form such a feature of Asiatic geography. With the 
exception of Russia the surface, generally, is distributed into 
plains, hills, and valleys of moderate size. Instead of a few 
large rivers, such as are found in Asia, Europe is well supplied 
with numerous streams that make it possible to travel readily 
from one district to another. 

The almost unbroken mountain chain formed by the Pyrenees, 

i Webster, Readings in Ancient History , chapter iii, “Early Greek Society as 
Pictured in the Homeric Poems”; chapter iv, “Stories from Greek Mythology ; 
chapter v, “Some Greek Tyrants”; chapter vi, “Spartan Education and Life. 

65 


66 The Rise of Greece 

the Alps, and the Balkans, sharply separates the central 
Central and land mass °f Europe from the regions to the south, 
northern Central Europe consists, in general, of lowlands, 
Europe which widen eastward into the vast Russian plain. 

Northern Europe includes the British Isles, physically an exten¬ 
sion of Europe, and the peninsulas of Scandinavia and Finland, 
between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Twenty centuries 
ago central and northern Europe was a land of forests and 
marshes, of desolate steppes and icebound hills. The peoples 
who inhabited it — Celts in the west, Teutons or Germans in 
the north, Slavs in the east — were men of Indo-European 1 
race and speech. They were still barbarians. During ancient 
times we hear little of them, except as their occasional migra¬ 
tions southward brought them into contact with the Greeks 
and the Romans. 

Southern Europe comprises the three peninsulas of Spain, 
Italy, and the Balkans, which reach far south into the Mediter- 
Southern ranean. This great inland sea is divided into two 

Europe parts near the center, where Africa and the island 

of Sicily almost touch each other across a narrow strait. The 
eastern part contains several minor seas', of which the one 
called the ^Rgean had most importance in Greek history. 

21. Greece and the JEgean 

The iTgean is an almost landlocked body of water. The 
Balkan peninsula, narrowing toward the Mediterranean into 
The jEgean the smaller peninsula of Greece, confines it on the 
Sea west. On the east it meets a boundary in Asia 

Minor. The southern boundary is formed by a chain of islands, 
while the only opening northward is found in the narrow pas¬ 
sage leading to the Black Sea. The coasts and islands of the 
JEge an thus make up a little world set off by itself. 

Continental Greece is a tiny country. Its greatest length is 
Continental scarcely more than two hundred and fifty miles; its 
Greece greatest breadth is only one hundred and eighty 

miles. Mountain ridges, offshoots of the Balkans, compose 

1 See pages 16-17. 






































































































r 





































67 


Greece and the ^Egean 

the greater part of its area. Into the valleys and deep gorges 
of the interior the impetuous sea has everywhere forced a chan¬ 
nel. The coast line, accordingly, is most irregular—a constant 
succession of sharp promontories and curving bays. The 
mountains, crossing the peninsula in confused masses, break it 
up into numberless valleys and glens which seldom widen into 
plains. The rivers are not navigable. The few lakes, hemmed 
in by the hills, have no outlets except in underground channels. 
In this land of the Greeks no place is more than fifty miles from 
a mountain range, or more than forty miles from some long 
arm of the Mediterranean. 

From the Greek mainland to the coast of Asia Minor the 
traveler follows a route thickly studded with rocky islands. 
They are near enough together to permit the The JE gean 
passage from one to another without losing sight lslands 
of land. The ^gean islands thus served as “stepping-stones” 
between Greece and Asia Minor. 

Western Asia Minor resembles Continental Greece in its 
deeply indented coast, variety of scenery, and mild climate. 
The fertile river valleys of this region early at- Western Asia 
tracted Greek colonists. They built here many Minor 
flourishing cities, especially along the central coast, which 
came to be known as Ionia. 

Greek history well illustrates the influence of geographical 
conditions on the life of a people. In the first place, mountain 
ranges cut up Continental Greece into many small i n fl uen ce of 
states, separated from one another by natural geographical 
ramparts. Hence the Greeks loved most ot ail 
their own local independence and always refused to unite into 
one nation under a single government. In the second place, 
the near presence of the sea made sailors of the Greeks and led 
them to devote much energy to foreign commerce. They 
early felt, in consequence, the stimulating effects of inter¬ 
course with other peoples. Finally, the location of Greece at 
the threshold of Asia, with its best harbors and most numer¬ 
ous islands on the eastern coast, enabled the country to receive 


68 The Rise of Greece 

and profit by all the culture of the Orient. Greece faced the 
civilized East. 

22. The iEgean Age (to about 1100 B.C.) 

The Greeks of historic times knew very little about their 
prehistoric period. Instead of accurate knowledge they had 

A prehistoric Only the 
civilization beauti¬ 
ful legends preserved 
in ancient poems, 
such as the Iliad 
and the Odyssey. 
Within our own 
day, however, re¬ 
markable excava¬ 
tions have disclosed 
the remains of a 
widespread and 
flourishing civiliza¬ 
tion in times so dis¬ 
tant that the historic 
Greeks had lost all 
sight of it. As in the 
Orient, 1 the labors 
of modern scholars 
are yearly adding to 
our knowledge of 
ancient life. 

The man who did 
most to reveal the 
prehistoric civilization of Greece was a wealthy German mer- 
Schliemann’s c ^ ant named Heinjich Schliemann. An enthu- 
excavations siastic lover of Homer, he believed that the stories 

at Troy . of the Trojan War related in the Iliad were not 

idle fancies, but real facts. In 1870 a.d. he started to test his 
beliefs by excavations at a hill called Hissarlik, on the north- 



Excavations at Troy 

The great northeast tower ol the sixth city. The stairs 
at the right belong to the eighth city. 


1 See page 42. 


The iEgean Age 69 

western coast of Asia Minor. Here tradition had always fixed 
the site of ancient Troy. Schliemann’s discoveries and those of 
later explorers proved that at Hissarlik at least nine successive 
cities had come into existence, flourished, and passed away. 



Excavations completed in 1892 a.d. have shown that the sixth 
city in order from the bottom was the one described in the 
- Homeric poems. It had powerful walls defended by towers, 
well-fortified gates, and. palaces of stone. The marks of fire 
throughout the ruins indicate that the city must have been 
destroyed by a disastrous conflagration. 

The remarkable disclosures at Troy encouraged Schliemann 
to excavate other Homeric sites. At Mycenae, a prehistoric 



































The Rise of Greece 


70 


city of Argolis in Greece, he laid bare six rock-hewn graves, 
containing the skeletons of nineteen persons, men, 
excavations women ; and children. The faces of the dead had 
at Mycenae been covered with thin masks of gold, and their 
bodies had been decked with gold diadems, brace¬ 
lets, and pendants. The other funeral offerings include gold 

rings, silver vases* 
and a variety of 
bronze weapons. 
At Tiryns, once 
the capital of Ar¬ 
golis, he uncov¬ 
ered the ruins of 
an extensive 
structure with 
gateways, open 
courts, and closed 
apartments. 
Characteristic of 
this edifice were 
the separate quar¬ 
ters occupied by 
men and women, 
the series of store¬ 
rooms for provi¬ 
sions, and such a 
modern conven¬ 
ience as a bath¬ 
room with pipes and drains. In short, the palace at Tiryns 
gives us a clear and detailed picture of the home of a Homeric 
prince. 

But the fame of even Schliemann’s discoveries has been some¬ 
what dimmed by the excavations made since 1900 a.d. on the 
Evans’s ex- s ^ te °f Cnossus, the ancient capital of the island of 
Crete. At Gnossus an Englishman, Sir Arthur 
Evans, has found the remains of an enormous 
palace, with numerous courts, passages, and rooms. Here is 



Lions’ Gate, Mycenae 

The stone relief, of triangular shape, represents two lions 
(or lionesses) facing each other on opposite sides of a pillar. 
The heads of the animals have been lost. 


cavations at 
Gnossus 











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7i 


The iEgean Age 


the royal council chamber with the throne on which the king 
once sat. Here are the royal magazines, still filled with huge 
earthenware jars for the storage of provisions. A great number 
of brilliant pictures — hunting scenes, landscapes, portraits of 
men and women — cover the palace walls. Buried in some of 
the chambers were thousands 
of clay tablets with inscrip¬ 



tions which, if ever read, will 
add new chapters to ancient 
history. 1 


These discoveries in the 
iEgean enable us to place 
another venerable Ant iq U ity of 
center of civilized -®gean civi- 



Babylonia and Egypt. As 
early as 3000 b.c. the primitive 
inhabitants of the ^Egean were 
giving up the use of stone tools 
and weapons for those of metal. 
Bronze soon came into general 


Silver Fragment from Mycenae 

National Museum, Athens 


A siege scene showing the bows, slings, 
and huge shields of Mycenaean warriors. In 
the background are seen the masonry of 
the city wall and the flat-roofed houses. 


use, as is shown by the excava¬ 
tions. The five centuries between 1600 and 1100 b.c. appear 
to have been the time when the civilization of the ^Egean Age 
reached its highest development. 

Remarkable progress took place during ^Egean times in some 
of the fine arts. We find imposing palaces, often splendidly 
adorned and arranged for a life of comfort. Wall Thg fine arts 
paintings, plaster reliefs, and fine carvings in stone 
excite our admiration. ^Egean artists made beautiful pottery 
of many shapes and cleverly decorated it with plant and ani¬ 
mal forms. They carved ivory, engraved gems, and excelled 
in the working of metals. Some of their productions in gold, 
silver, and bronze were scarcely surpassed by Greek artists a 
thousand years later. 2 

There was much intercourse throughout the Mediterranean 
1 See the illustration, page 10. 2 See the plate facing page 70. 




The Rise of Greece 


Commerce 


72 

during this period. Products of ^Egean art have been found 
as far west as Sicily, Italy, and Spain. ^Egean 
pottery has frequently been discovered in Egyp¬ 
tian tombs. Some objects unearthed in Babylonia are ap¬ 
parently of iEgean workmanship. 
In those ancient days Crete was 
mistress of the seas. Cretan mer¬ 
chants preceded the Phoenicians as 
carriers between Asia and Europe. 1 
Trade and commerce thus opened 
up the Mediterranean world to 
all the cultural influences of the 
Orient. 

^Egean civilization did not pene¬ 
trate beyond the shores of Asia 

Downfall of Minor > the islands > 

JE gean civi- and the coasts of 

hzation Continental Greece. 

The interior regions of the Greek 
peninsula remained the home of 
barbarous tribes, which had not 
yet learned to build cities, to cre¬ 
ate beautiful objects of art, or to 
By 1100 b.c. their destructive inroads 



A Cretan Girl 

Museum of Candia, Crete 

A fresco painting from the palace 
of Gnossus. The girl’s face is so aston¬ 
ishingly modern in treatment that one 
can scarcely believe that the picture 
belongs to the sixteenth century b.c. 


traffic on the seas, 
brought the ^Egean Age to an end. 

23 . The Homeric Age (about 1100-750 B.C.) 

The barbarians who overthrew ^Egean civilization seem to 
have entered Greece from the north, perhaps from the region 
p.n min g of th e Danube River. They pushed gradually 

the northern southward, sometimes exterminating or enslaving 
barbarians t he ear ^ er inhabitants of the country, but more 
often settling peaceably in their new homes. Conquerors and 
conquered slowly intermingled and so produced the one Greek 
people which is found at the dawn of history. These Greeks, 
as we shall call them henceforth, also occupied the islands of 

1 See pages 29, 48. 












































































The Homeric Age 


73 



the ^Egean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor. The entire basin 
of the ^Egean thus became a Greek world. 

The period between the end of the .Egean Age and the open¬ 
ing of historic times in Greece The Homeric 
is usually called the Homeric eplcs 
Age, because many features of its civiliza¬ 
tion are reflected in two epic poems called 
the Iliad and the Odyssey. The former 
deals with the story of a Greek expedition 
against Troy; the latter describes the wan¬ 
derings of the hero Odysseus on his return 
from Troy. The two epics were probably 
composed in Ionia, and by the Greeks were 
attributed to a blind bard named Homer. 

Many modern scholars, however, consider 
them the work of several generations of 
poets. The references in the Iliad and the 
Odyssey to industry, social life, law, gov¬ 
ernment, and religion give us some idea 
of the culture which the historic Greeks 
received as their inheritance. 

The Greeks as described in the Homeric 
epics were in a transitional stage between 
the life of shepherds and that Industry 
of farmers. Wealth consisted 
chiefly of flocks and herds, though nearly 
every freeman owned a little plot of land 
on which he cultivated grain and cared for 
his orchard and vineyard. There were few 
skilled workmen, for almost everything was made at home. 
A separate class of traders had not yet arisen. Commerce was 
little followed. The Greeks depended on Phoenician sailors to 
bring to their shores the commodities which they could not 
produce themselves. Iron was known and used, for instance, 
in the manufacture of farm tools. During Homeric times, how¬ 
ever, that metal had not yet displaced copper and bronze. 1 

i See page 5 . 


/Egean Snake 
Goddess 

Museum of Fine Arts, 
Boston 

A gold and ivory statu¬ 
ette found in Crete. Dates 
from the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury b.c. The goddess 
wears the characteristic 
Cretan dress, with low- 
cut jacket and full skirt 
with five plaited flounces. 
On her head is an elabo¬ 
rate crown. 


74 


The Rise of Greece 


Social life 


Social life was very simple. Princes tended flocks and built 
houses; princesses carried water and washed clothes. Agamem¬ 
non, Odysseus, and other heroes were not ashamed 
to be their own butchers and cooks. The Homeric 
knights did not ride on horseback, but fought from chariots. 

They sat at table instead of reclining 
at meals, as did the later Greeks. 
Coined money was unknown. Trade 
was by barter, values being reckoned 
in oxen or in lumps of gold and silver. 
Men bought their wives by making 
gifts of cattle to the parents. The 
art of writing is mentioned only once 
in the Homeric poems, and doubtless 
was little used. 

The times were rude. Wars, though 
petty, were numerous and cruel. The 
Law and vanquished suffered 

morality death or slavery. Piracy, 

flourishing upon the unprotected seas, 
ranked as an honorable occupation. 
It was no insult to inquire of a sea¬ 
faring stranger whether he was pirate 
or merchant. Murders were frequent. 
The murderer had to dread, not a pub¬ 
lic trial and punishment, but rather 
the personal vengeance of the kinsmen 
of his victim. The Homeric Greeks, 
in fact, exhibited the usual defects 
and vices of barbarous peoples. 

The Iliad and Odyssey disclose a considerable acquaintance 
with peninsular Greece and the coasts of Asia Minor. Cyprus, 
Homeric Egypt, and Sicily are also known in part. The 

geography poet imagines the earth as a sort of flat shield, 
with Greece lying in the center. 1 The Mediterranean, “The 
Sea.” as it is called by Homer, and its continuation, the 

1 See the map, page 76, 



A Cretan Cupbearer 

Museum of Candia, Crete 
A fresco painting from the pal¬ 
ace of Gnossus. The youth car¬ 
ries a silver cup ornamented with 
gold. His waist is tightly drawn 
in by a girdle, his hair is dark 
and curly; his profile is almost 
classically Greek. 






75 


Early Greek Religion 


Euxine, 1 divided the world into two equal parts. Surrounding 
the earth was “the great strength of the Stream of Ocean,” 2 a 
river, broad and deep, beyond which lay the dark and misty 



realm of the mythical Cimmerians. The underworld of Hades, 
home of the dead, was beneath the surface of the earth. 


24 . Early Greek Religion 

We may learn from the Homeric poems what were the religious 
ideas held by the early Greeks. The greater gods and goddesses 
were not numerous. Less than a score everywhere The Olym-^ 
received worship under the same names and in all p 
the temples. Twelve of the chief deities formed a select council, 
which was supposed to meet on the top of snow-crowned Olym¬ 
pus. The Greeks, however, did not agree as to what gods and 
goddesses should be included in this august assemblage. 

1 The Greek name of the Black Sea. * ^ ad > xvm * 6 °7- 



























76 


The Rise of Greece 


Many of the Olympian deities appear to have been simply 
personifications of natural phenomena. Zeus , “father of gods 
Attributes of and men,” as Homer calls him, was a heaven god, 
the deities w ho gathered the clouds in storms and hurled the 
lightning bolt. Apollo^, a mighty god of light, who warded off 



darkness and evil, became the ideal of manly beauty and the 
patron of music, poetry, and healing. Dionysus was worshiped 
as the god of sprouting and budding vegetation! Poseidon, 
brother of Zeus, ruled the sea. Hera, the wife of Zeus, repre¬ 
sented the female principle in nature. Hence she presided 
over the life of women and especially over the sacred rites of 
marriage. r 

Athena, who sprang full-grown from the forehead of Zeus, 
embodied the idea of wisdom and all womanly virtues. Aphro¬ 
dite, who arose from the foam of the sea, was the goddess of 
love and beauty. Demeter, the great earth-mother, watched 
over seed-time and harvest. Each deity thus had a kingdom 
and a function of its own. 










Zeus Otricoli 
Vatican Gallery, Rome 



Hera 

Ludovisi Villa, Rome 




Apollo of the Belvedere 
Vatican Gallery, Rome 


Aphrodite of Cnidus 
Glyptothek, Munich 


GREEK GODS AND GODDESSES 

















THE APHRODITE OF MELOS 

Louvre, Paris 

More commonly known as the “Venus of Milo.” The statue was dis¬ 
covered in 1820 a.d. on the island of Melos. It consists of two principal 
pieces, joined together across the folds of the drapery. Most art critics date 
this work about 100 b.c. The strong, serene figure of the goddess sets forth 
the Greek ideal of female loveliness. 









77 


Early Greek Religion 

The Greeks made their gods and goddesses after themselves. 
The Olympian divinities are really magnified men and women, 
subject to all human passions and appetites, but Conceptions 
possessed of more than human power and endowed of the delties 
with immortality. They enjoy the banquet, where they feast 


Calydonian boar hunt 

Games at the funeral 
of Patroclus 


Peleus, Thetis, and the 
gods 


Pursuit of Troilus by 
Achilles 

Animal scenes, 
sphinxes, etc. 


The Francois Vase 

Archaeological Museum, Florence 

Found in an Etruscan grave in 1844 a.d. A black-figured terra cotta vase of about 
600 b.c. It is nearly three feet in height and two and one-half feet in diameter. The 
figures on the vase depict scenes from Greek mythology. 



on nectar and ambrosia; they take part in the struggles of 
the battle field; they marry and are given in marriage. The 
gods, morally, were no better than their worshipers. They 
might be represented as deceitful, dissolute, and cruel, but 
they could also be regarded as upholders of truth and virtue. 
Even Homer could say, “Verily the blessed gods love not evil 
deeds, but they reverence justice and the righteous acts of 
men.” 1 

Greek ideas of the other world were dismal to an extreme. 

t Odyssey , xiv, 83-84. 











The Rise of Greece 


78 


The after-life in Hades was believed to be a shadowy, joyless 
Ideas of the copy of the earthly existence. In Hades the shade 
other world 0 f g rea t Achilles exclaims sorrowfully, “Nay, 
speak not comfortably to me of death. Rather would I live 

on earth as the hireling of another, 
even with a landless man who had 
no great livelihood, than bear 
sway among all the dead.-” 1 It 
was not until several centuries 
after Homer that happier notions 
of the future life were taught, or 
at least suggested, in the Eleusin- 
ian mysteries. 2 

25. Religious Institutions: 
Oracles and Games 

The Greeks believed that com¬ 
munications from the gods were 
received from certain 
inspired persons at 
places called oracles. 
The oracle of Apollo at Delphi in 
Phocis enjoyed the utmost veneration. It lay within a deep 
cave on the rocky side of Mount Parnassus. Out of a chasm 
rose a volcanic vapor which had a certain intoxicating power. 
The Pythia, or prophetess of Apollo, sat on a tripod over the 
steaming cleft and inhaled the gas. The words she uttered in 
delirium were supposed to come from the god. They were 
taken down by the attendant priests, written out in verse, and 
delivered to the suppliants. 

The fame of Apollo as the patron of inspiration and prophecy 
spread throughout Greece and penetrated to foreign lands. 
Inquiries at Every year thousands of visitors made their way 
the oracle t 0 Apollo’s shrine. Sick men prayed for health, 

childless men prayed for offspring. Statesmen wished to learn 
the fate of their political schemes; ambassadors sent by kings 

1 Odyssey, xi, 488-491. * See page 227. 



Consulting the Oracle at 
Delphi 


Oracle of 
Apollo at 
Delphi 



















Religious Institutions: Oracles and Games 79 


and cities sought advice as to weighty matters of peace and war. 
Above all, colonists came to Delphi in order to obtain directions 
as to the best country in which to settle. Some of the noblest 
cities of the Greek world, Cyrene and Byzantium, for example, 1 
had their sites fixed by Apollo’s guidance. 

The priests who managed the oracle and its responses were 
usually able to give good advice to their inquirers, because 
news of every sort streamed into Delphi. When Character of 
the priests were doubtful what answer to give, the responses 
the prophecy of the god was sometimes expressed in such 
ambiguous fashion that, whatever the outcome, neither Apollo 
nor his servants could be charged with deceit. For instance, 
when Croesus, the Lydian king, was about to attack Cyrus, 
he learned from the oracle that “if he warred with the Persians 
he would overthrow a mighty empire” 2 —but the mighty 
empire proved to be his own. 3 

Athletic games were held in different parts of Greece from a 
remote period. The most famous games were those in honor 
of Zeus at Olympia in Elis. They took place The Olym- 
every fourth year, in midsummer. 4 A sacred pian games 
truce was proclaimed for an entire month, in order that the 
thousands of spectators from every part of Greece might arrive 
and depart in safety. No one not of Greek blood and no one 
convicted of crime or of the sin of impiety might participate in 
the contests. The candidates had also to prove that they were 
qualified for the severe tests by a long and hard training. Once 
accepted as competitors, they could not withdraw. The man 
who shrank back when the hour of trial arrived was considered 


a coward and was punished with a heavy fine. 

The games occupied five days, beginning with the contests 
in running. There was a short-distance dash The contests 
through the length of the stadium, a quarter-mile 
race, and also a longer race, probably for two or three miles. 

1 See pages 88, 90. 2 Herodotus, i, S 3 - 3 See page 37 - 

« The first recorded celebration occurred in 776 b.c. The four-year penod between 
the games, called an Olympiad, became the Greek unit for determining dates. 
Events were reckoned as taking place in the first, second, third, or fourth year of a 
given Olympiad. 


8o 


The Rise of Greece 


Then followed a contest consisting of five events: the long 
jump, hurling the discus, throwing the javelin, running, and 
wrestling. It is not known how victory in these five events 

taken together was decided. In the 
long jump, weights like dumb-bells 
were held in the hands, the swing of 
the weights being used to assist the 
spring. The discus, which weighed 
about twelve pounds, was some¬ 
times hurled more than one hun¬ 
dred feet. The javelin was thrown 
either by the hand alone or with the 
help of a thong wound about the 
shaft and held in the fingers. In 
wrestling, three falls were necessary 
for a victory. The contestants were 
free to get their grip as best they 
could. Other contests included box¬ 
ing, horse races, and chariot races. 
Women were apparently excluded 
from the games, yet they were al¬ 
lowed to enter horses for the races 
and to set up statues in honor of 
the victors. 

The Olympian festival was pro¬ 
foundly religious, because the dis- 
The victor’s play of manly strength 
reward was thought to be a 

spectacle most pleasing to the gods. 
The winning athlete received only a 
wreath of wild olive at Olympia, but 
at home he enjoyed the gifts and veneration of his fellow-citi¬ 
zens. Poets celebrated his victories in noble odes. Sculptors 
reproduced his triumphs in stone and bronze. To the end of his 
days he remained a distinguished man. 

There were few Greeks who at least once in their lives did not 
attend the festival. The crowds that gathered before and after 



The Discus Thrower 
(Discobolus) 

Lancelotti Palace, Rome 
Marble copy of the bronze origi¬ 
nal by Myron, a sculptor of the fifth 
century b.c. Found in 1781 A.D. on 
the Esquiline Hill, Rome. The stat¬ 
ue represents a young man, perhaps 
an athlete at the Olympian games, 
who is bending forward to hurl the 
discus. His body is thrown vio¬ 
lently to the left with a twisting ac¬ 
tion that brings every muscle into 
play. 




HERMES AND DIONYSUS 
Museum of Olympia 

An original statue by the great sculptor, Praxiteles. It was found in 1877 a.d. at Olympia. 
Hermes is represented carrying the child Dionysus, whom Zeus had intrusted to his care. 
The symmetrical body of Hermes is faultlessly modeled; the poise of his head is full of dignity; 
his expression is refined and thoughtful. Manly strength and beauty have never been better 
embodied than in this work. 




























• . 

. 






The Greek City-State 


Si 


the games turned the camp into a great fair, at which mer¬ 
chants set up their shops and money changers their significance 
tables. Poets recited their lines before admiring of the games 
audiences and artists exhibited their masterpieces to intending 
purchasers. Heralds read treaties re¬ 
cently formed between Greek cities, in 
order to have them widely known. 

Orators addressed the multitude on 
subjects of general interest. The games 
thus helped to preserve a sense of fel¬ 
lowship among Greek communities. 

26. The Greek City-State 

The Greeks in Homeric times had 
already begun to live in towns and cities. 

A Greek city, being inde- Nature of the 
pendent and self-govern- city-state 
ing, is properly called a city-state. Just 
as'a modern nation, it could declare war, 
arrange treaties, and make alliances 
with its neighbors. Such a city-state 
included not only the territory within 
its walls, but also the surrounding dis¬ 
trict where many of the citizens lived. 

The members of a Greek city-state 
were very closely associated. The citi¬ 
zens believed themselves to Thg citizens 
be descended from a com¬ 
mon ancestor and so to be all related. 

They were united, also, in the worship of 
the patron god or hero who had them 
under his protection. These ties of sup- 



Athlete using the Stri- 
gil (Apoxyomenus) 
Vatican Gallery, Rome 
Marble copy of the bronze 
original by Lysippus, a sculp¬ 
tor of the fourth century B.c. 
The statute represents an ath¬ 
lete rubbing his arm with a 
flesh scraper to remove the oil 
and sand of the palestra, or 
exercising ground. His slen¬ 
der form suggests quickness 
and agility rather than great 
strength. 


posed kinship and common religion were of the utmost impor¬ 
tance. They made citizenship a privilege which came to a 
person only by birth, a privilege which he lost by removal to 
another city. Elsewhere he was only a foreigner without legal 
rights — a man without a country. 



82 


The Rise of Greece 


The Homeric poems, which give us our first view of the Greek 
city-state, also contain the most ancient account of its govern- 
Government ment - Each city-state had a king, “the shepherd 
of the city- of the people,” 1 as Homer calls him. The king 
did not possess absolute authority. He was sur¬ 
rounded by a council of nobles, chiefly the great landowners of 
the community. They helped him in judgment and sacrifice, 
followed him to war, and filled the principal offices. Both king 
and nobles were obliged to consult the common people on 
matters of great importance. For this purpose the ruler would 
summon the citizens to the market place to hear the delibera¬ 
tions of his council and to settle such questions as making war 
or declaring peace. All men of free birth could attend the 
assembly, where they shouted assent to the decision of their 
leaders or showed disapproval by silence. This public assembly 
had little importance in the Homeric Age, but later it be¬ 
came the center of Greek democracy. 

After the middle of the eighth century b.c., when historic 
times began in Greece, some interesting changes took place in 

Political de- t ^ ie government of the city-states. In some of 

veiopment of them, for example, Thebes and Corinth, the nobles 
the city-state k ecame strong enough to abolish the kingship 

altogether. Mo narch y, the rule of one, thus gave away to 

aristocracy, 2 the rule of the.nohles. In other states, for instance, 
Sparta and Argos, the kings were not driven out, but their power 
was much weakened. Some states came under the control of 
usurpers whom the Greeks called “tyrants.” A tyrant was a 
man who gained supreme power by force and governed for his 
own benefit without regard to the laws. There were many 
tyrannies in the Greek world during the seventh and sixth 
centuries B.c. Still other states went through an entire cycle 
of changes from kingship to aristocracy, from aristocracy to 
tyranny, and from tyranny to democracy or popular rule. 

The isolated and independent Greek communities thus 

1 Iliad, ii, 243. 

2 Aristocracy means, literally, the “government of the best.” The Greeks also 
used the word oligarchy — “rule of the few” — to describe a government by citizens 
who belong to the wealthy class. 




The Growth of Sparta 83 

developed at an early period many different kinds of govern¬ 
ment. To study them all would be a long task. A 

/ ° . Sparta and 

It is better to fix our attention on the two city- Athens as 

states which held the principal place in Greek types of the 
. . . . city-state 

history and at the same time presented the 

most striking contrasts in government and social life. These 

were Sparta and Athens. 

27. The Growth of Sparta (to 500 B.C.) 

The Greek invaders who entered southern Greece, or the 
Peloponnesus, 1 were known as Dorians. They founded the city 
of Sparta, in the district of Laconia. By the close Sparta and 
of the sixth century B.C. the Spartans were able the Peiopon- 
to conquer their immediate neighbors and to nesian Lea s ue 
organize some of the city-states of the Peloponnesus into a 
strong confederacy called the P eloponnesian Leagu e. The 
members of the league did not pay tribute, but they furnished 
troops to serve in war under Spartan leaders, and they looked 
to Sparta for guidance and protection. Thus this single city 
became the foremost power in southern Greece. 

It is clear that the Spartans must have been an extremely 
vigorous and warlike people. Their city, in fact, formed a 
military camp, garrisoned by soldiers whose whole Sparta a 
fife was passed in war and in preparation for war. military 
The Spartans were able to devote themselves to camp 
martial pursuits because they possessed a large number of serfs, 
called helots. The helots tilled the lands of the Spartans and 
gave up to their masters the entire product of their labor, 
except what was necessary for a bare subsistence. 

Spartan government also had a military character. In form 
the state was a kingdom, but since there were always two kings 
reigning at once and enjoying equal authority, Government 
neither of them could become very powerful. The of Sparta 
real management of public affairs lay in the hands of five me n, 
known as ephors, who were elected every year by the popular 

1 “Pelops’s island,” a name derived from a legendary hero who settled in 
southern Greece. 






84 


The Rise of Greece 


assembly. The ephors accompanied the kings in war and di¬ 
rected their actions; guided the deliberations of the council 
of nobles and the assembly of freemen; superintended the 
education of children; and exercised a general oversight of the 
private life of citizens. The ephors had such absolute control 
over the lives and property of the Spartans that we may describe 
their rule as socialistic and select Sparta as an example of an¬ 
cient state socialism. Nowhere else in the Greek world was the 
welfare of the individual man so thoroughly subordinated to the 
interests of the society of which he formed a unit. 

Spartan education had a single purpose — to produce good 
soldiers and obedient citizens. A sound body formed the 
The Spartan first essential. A father was required to submit 
boy his son, soon after birth, to an inspection by the 

elders of his tribe. If they found the child puny or ill-shaped, 
they ordered it to be left on the mountain side, to perish from 
exposure. At the age of seven a boy was taken from his parents’ 
home and placed in a military school. Here he was trained in 
marching, sham fighting, and gymnastics. He learned to sing 
warlike songs and in conversation to express himself in the 
fewest possible words. Spartan brevity of speech became pro¬ 
verbial. Above all he learned to endure hardship without 
complaint. He went barefoot and wore only a single garment, 
winter and summer. He slept on a bed of rushes. Every year 
he and his comrades had to submit to a flogging before the 
altar of the goddess Artemis, and the hero was the lad who 
could bear the whipping longest without giving a sign of pain. 
It is said that boys sometimes died under the lash rather than 
utter a cry. Such ordeals are still a feature of savage life 
to-day. 

On reaching the age of twenty the youth was considered a 
warrior. He did not five at home, but passed his time in bar- 
The adult racks, as a member of a military mess to which he 
Spartan contributed his proper share of food, wine, and 
money. At the age of thirty years the young Spartan became a 
full citizen and a member of the popular assembly. He was then 
compelled to marry in order to raise children for the state. 



The Growth of Athens 


85 


But marriage did not free him from attendance at the public 
meals, the drill ground, and the gymnasium. A Spartan, in 
fact, enjoyed little home life until his sixtieth year, when he 
became an elder and retired from actual service. 

This exclusive devotion to military pursuits accomplished 
its object. The Spartans became the finest soldiers of antiquity. 
“All the rest of the Greeks,” says an ancient Excellence 
writer, “are amateurs; the Spartans are profes- of the Spar- 
sionals in the conduct of war.” 1 Though Sparta tan soldiery 
never produced great thinkers, poets, or artists, her military 
strength made her the bulwark of Greece against foreign foes. 
The time was to come when Greece, to retain her liberties, 
would need this disciplined Spartan soldiery. 2 

28. The Growth of Athens (to 500 B.C.) 

The district of Attica, though smaller than our smallest 
American commonwealth, was early filled with a number of 
independent city-states. It was a great step in Athens as a 
advance when, long before the dawn of Greek Clt y _state 
history, these tiny communities were united with Athens. 
The inhabitants of the Attic towns and villages gave up their 
separate governments and became members of the one city- 
state of Athens. Henceforth a man was a Athenian citizen, no 
matter in what part of Attica he lived. 

At an earlier period, perhaps, than elsewhere in Greece, mon¬ 
archy at Athens disappeared before the rising power of the 
nobles. The rule of the nobility bore harshly on oppressive 
the common people. Popular discontent was rule of the 
especially excited at the administration of justice. no 
There were at first no written laws, but only the long-established 


1 Xenophon, Polity of the Lacedaemonians , 13. 

2 The Spartans believed that their military organization was the work of a great 
reformer and law-giver named Lycurgus. He was supposed to have lived early in 
the ninth century B.C. We do not know anything about Lycurgus, but we do know 
that some eHsting primitive tribes, for instance, the Masai of East Africa, have cus¬ 
toms almost the same as those of ancient Sparta. Hence we may say that the rude, 
even barbarous, Spartans only carried over into the historic age the habits of life 
which they had formed in prehistoric times. 



86 


The Rise of Greece 


customs of the community. Since all the judges were nobles, 
they were tempted to decide legal cases in favor of their own 
class. The people, at length, began to clamor for a written 
code. They could then know just what the laws were. 

After much agitation an Athenian named Draco was employed 
to write out a code for the state. The laws, as published, were 
Draco’s code, very severe. The penalty for most offenses, even 
621 b.c. the smallest theft, was death. The Athenians 
used to declare that the Draconian code had been written, “not 
in ink, but in blood.” Its publication, however, was a popular 
triumph and the first step toward the establishment of Athenian 
democracy. 

The second step was the legislation of Solon. This celebrated 
Athenian was accounted among the wisest men of his age. The 
Legislation people held him in high honor and gave him power 
of Solon, to make much-needed reforms. At this time the 
condition of the Attic peasants was deplorable. 
Many of them had failed to pay their rent to the wealthy land- 
owners, and according to the old custom were being sold into 
slavery. Solon abolished the custom and restored to freedom 
all those who had been enslaved for debt. He also limited the 
amount of land which a noble might hold. By still another law 
he admitted even the poorest citizens to the popular assembly, 
where they could vote for magistrates and judge of their con¬ 
duct after their year of office was over. By giving the common 
people a greater share in the government, Solon helped forward 
the democratic movement at Athens. 

Solon’s reforms satisfied neither the nobility nor the com¬ 
mons. The two classes continued their rivalry until the disorder 
Tyranny of the times enabled an ambitious politician to gain 
Pisistratus, supreme power as a tyrant . 1 He was Solon’s own 
560-527 B.c. a no ble named Pisistratus. The tyrant 

ruled with moderation and did much to develop the Athenian 
city-state. He fostered agriculture by dividing the lands of 
banished nobles among the peasants. His alliances with neigh¬ 
boring cities encouraged the rising commerce of Athens. The 

1 See page 82. 


Colonial Expansion of Greece 87 

city itself was adorned with handsome buildings by architects 
and sculptors whom Pisistratus invited to his court from all 
parts of Greece. 

Pisistratus was succeeded by his two sons, but the Athenians 
did not take kindly to their rule. Before long the tyranny came 
to an end. The Athenians now found a leader in a R e f orms 0 f 
noble named Clisthenes, who proved to be an able Clisthenes, 
statesman. He carried still further the democratic 
movement begun by Draco and Solon. One of his reforms 
extended Athenian citizenship to many foreigners and emanci¬ 
pated slaves (“freedmen”) then living in Attica. This liberal 
measure swelled the number of citizens and helped to make the 
Athenians a more progressive people. Clisthenes, it is said, 
also established the curious arrangement known as ostracism. 
Every year, if necessary, the citizens were to meet in assembly" 
and to vote against any persons whom they thought dangerous 
to the state. If as many as six thousand votes were cast, the 
man who received the highest number of votes had to go into 
honorable exile for ten years . 1 Though ostracism was intended 
as a precaution against tyrants, before long it came to be used 
to remove unpopular politicians. 

There weije still some steps to be taken before the rule of the 
people was completely secured at Athens. But, in the main, 
the Athenians by 500 b.c. had established a truly Athensa 
democratic government, the first in the history of democratic 
the world. The hour was now rapidly approach- s e 
ing when this young and vigorous democracy was to show forth 
its worth before the eyes of all Greece. 

29. Colonial Expansion of Greece (about 750-500 B.C.) 

While Athens, Sparta, and their sister states were working 
out the problems of government, another signifi- xhe great age 
cant movement was going on in the Greek world, of^coiomza- 
The Greeks, about the middle of the eighth cen¬ 
tury b.c., began to plant numerous colonies along the shores of 

1 The name of an individual voted against was written on a piece of pottery 
(Greek ostrakon), whence the term ostracism. See the illustration, page 97. 


88 


The Rise of Greece 


the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea. The great age of 
colonization covered more than two hundred years. 1 

Several reasons led to the founding of colonies. Trade was an 
important motive. The Greeks, like the Phoenicians, 2 could 
Reasons for realize large profits by exchanging their manufac- 
founding tured goods for the food and raw materials of other 
countries. Land hunger was another motive. 
The poor soil of Greece could not support many inhabitants 
and, when population increased, emigration afforded the only 
means of relieving the pressure of numbers. A third motive 
was political and social unrest. Greek cities at this period con¬ 
tained many men of adventurous disposition who were ready to 
seek in foreign countries a refuge from the oppression of nobles 
or tyrants. They hoped to find in their new settlements more 
freedom than they had at home. 

A Greek colony was not simply a trading post; it was a center 
of Greek life. The colonists continued to be Greeks in customs, 
Character of language, and religion. Though quite indepen dent 
the Greek of the parent state, they always regar ded lFwItF 
reverence and ^affection: they called themselves 
“men away from home.” Mother city and daughter colony 
traded with each other and in time of danger helped each other. 
A symbol of this unity was the sacred fire carried from the 
public hearth of the old community to the new settlement. 

The Greeks planted many colonies on the coast of the northern 
Aegean and on both sides of the long passage between the 
Colonization Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Their most 
in the no#h important colony was Byzantium, upon the site 
— where Constantinople now stands. They also 
made settlements along the shores of the Black Sea. The cities 
founded here were centers from which the Greeks drew their 
supplies of fish, wood, wool, grain, metals, and slaves. The 
immense profits to be gained by trade made the Greeks willing 
to live in a cold country so unlike their own and among bar¬ 
barous peoples. 

The western lands furnished far more attractive sites for 

1 See the map facing page 48. * See page 49. 





8 9 


Colonial Expansion of Greece 

colonization. The Greeks could feel at home in southern Italy, 
where the genial climate, pure air, and sparkling sea Colonization 
recalled their native land. At a very early date in the west 
they founded Cumce, on the coast just north of thebay of Naples. 
Emigrants from Cumae, in turn, founded the city of Neapolis 
(Naples), which in Roman times formed a home of Greek cul¬ 
ture and even to-day possesses a large Greek population. To 



“Temple of Neptune,” P^estum 

Psestura, the Greek Poseidonia, was a colony of Sybaris. The malarial atmosphere of the 
place led to its desertion in the ninth century of our era. Hence the buildings there were not 
used as quarries for later structures. The so-called “ Temple of Neptune ’ ’ at Psestum is one of 
the best-preserved monuments of antiquity. 

secure the approaches from Greece to these remote colonies, two 
strongholds were established on the strait of Messina. Regium 
on the Italian shore and Messana 2 on that of Sicily. Another 
important colony in southern Italy was Tarentum. 

Greek settlements in Sicily were mainly along the coast. 
Expansion over the entire island was checked by the Carthagin¬ 
ians, who had numerous possessions at its western The Sicilian 
extremity. The most celebrated colony in Sicily 
was Syracuse, established by emigrants from Corinth. It 
became the largest of Greek cities. 

In Corsica, Sardinia, and on the coast of Spam Carthage 
also proved too obstinate a rival for the Greeks other Medi- 
to gain much of a foothold. The city of Massilia terranean 
(Marseilles), at the mouth of the Rhone, was 
their chief settlement in ancient Gaul. Two colonies on the 

x Modem Reggio. 2 Modem Messina. * Modem Taranto. 




The Rise of Greece 


90 

southern shore of the Mediterranean were Cyrene, west of 
Egypt, and Naucratis, in the Delta of the Nile. From this 
time many Greek travelers visited Egypt to see the wonders 
of that strange old country. 

Energetic Greeks, the greatest colonizers of antiquity, thus 
founded settlements from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. 
Results of “All the Greek colonies” says an ancient writer, 
colonization “are washed by the waves of the sea, and, so to 
speak, a fringe of Greek earth is woven on to foreign lands.” 1 
To distinguish themselves from the foreigners, or “barbari¬ 
ans,” 2 about them, the Greeks began to call themselves by the 
common name of Hellenes. Hellas, their country, c ame to 
include all the territory possessed by Hellenic peoples. The 
life of the Greeks, henceforth, was confined no longer within the 
narrow limits of the ^Egean. Wherever rose a Greek city, there 
was a scene of Greek history. 


a unifying 
force 


30. Bonds of Union among the Greeks 

The Greek colonies, as we have seen, were free and independ¬ 
ent. In Greece itself the little city-states were just as jealous 
Language as their liberties. Nevertheless ties existed, not 
of common government, but of common interests 
and ideals, which helped to unite the scattered 
sections of the Greek world. The strongest bond of union was, 
of course, the one Greek speech. Everywhere the people used 
the same beautiful and expressive language. It is not a “dead” 
language, for it still lives in modified form on the lips of nearly 
three million people in the Greek peninsula, throughout the 
Mediterranean, and even in remote America. 

Greek literature, likewise, made for unity. The Iliad and the 
Odyssey were recited in every Greek village for centuries. They 
Literature as f° rm ed the principal textbook in the schools; an 
a unifying Athenian philosopher calls Homer the “educator 
force, Homer q £ jj e jj as> » j t h as k een we p that these two 

epics were at once the Bible and the Shakespeare of the Greek 
people. 

1 Cicero, De republica, ii, 4. 1 Greek harboroi, “men of confused speech.’’ 




Bonds of Union among the Greeks 


9 1 


Religion formed another bond of union. Everywhere the 
Greeks worshiped the same gods and performed the same 
sacred rites. Religious influences were sometimes Religion as a 
strong enough to bring about federations known unifying 
as amphictyonies, or leagues of neighbors. The ^ c c ^ 0 ““‘ 
people living around a famous sanctuary would 
meet to observe their festivals in common and to guard the 
shrine of their divinity. The Delphic amphictyony was the 
most noteworthy of these local unions. It included twelve 
tribes and cities of central Greece and Thessaly. They estab¬ 
lished a council, which took the shrine of Apollo under its pro¬ 
tection and superintended the athletic games at Delphi. 

The seventh and sixth centuries before Christ form a note¬ 
worthy epoch in Greek history. Commerce and colonization 
were bringing their educating influence to bear Anewage 
upon the Greeks. Hellenic cities were rising every¬ 
where along the Mediterranean shores. A common language, 
literature, and religion were making the people more and more 
conscious of their unity as opposed to the “barbarians” about 
them. 

Greek history has now been traced from its beginnings to 
about 500 b.c. It is the history of a people, not of one country 
or of a united nation. Yet the time was drawing The G ree k 
near when all the Greek communities were to be world, 500 
brought together in closer bonds of union than 
they had ever before known. 


* Studies 

x. On the map facing page 66 see what regions of Europe are less than 500 feet 
above sea level; less than 3000 feet; over 9000 feet. 2. Why was Europe better 
fitted than Asia to develop the highest civilization? Why not so well fitted as Asia 
to originate civilization? 3. “The tendency of mountains is to separate, of rivers 
to unite, adjacent peoples.” How can you justify this statement by a study of 
European geography? 4 - Why has the Mediterranean been called a “highway of 
nations”? 5. Locate on the map several of the natural entrances into the basin 
of the Mediterranean. 6. At what points is it probable that southern Europe and 
northern Africa were once united? 7 - Compare the position of Crete in relation to 
Egypt with that of Sicily in relation to the north African coast. 8. Why was the 
island of Cyprus a natural meeting place of Egyptian, Syrian, and Greek peoples? 
g. What modem countries are included within the limits of the Balkan peninsula? 


92 


The Rise of Greece 


io. What are some of the principal island routes across the Aegean Sea? 
i x. What American states lie in about the same latitude as Greece ? x2. Compare 
the boundaries of ancient Greece with those of the modern kingdom. 13. What 
European countries in physical features closely resemble Greece? What state of 
our union? 14. Why is Greece in its physical aspects'“ the most European of Euro¬ 
pean lands”? 15. What countries of Greece did not touch the sea? 16. Tell the 

story of the Iliad and of the Odyssey. 17. Explain the following terms: oracle; 
amphictyony; helot; Hellas; Olympiad; and ephors. 18. Give the meaning of 
our English words “ostracism” and “oracular.” 19. Explain the present meaning 
and historical origin of the following expressions: “a Delphic response”; “Dra¬ 
conian severity”; “a laconic speech.” 20. What is the date of the first recorded 
Olympiad? of the expulsion of the last tyrant of Athens? 21. Describe the 
Lions’ Gate (illustration, page 70) and the Francois Vase (illustration, page 77). 
22. Compare Greek ideas of the future life with those of the Babylonians. 23. Why 
has the Delphic oracle been called “the common hearth of Hellas”? 24. What 
resemblances do you discover between the Olympian festival and one of our great 
international expositions? 25. Define and illustrate these terms: monarchy; 
aristocracy; tyranny; democracy. 26. Why are the earliest laws always unwritten ? 
27. What differences existed between Phoenician and Greek colonization? 28. Why 
did the colonies, as a rule, advance more rapidly than the mother country in wealth 
and population? 29. What is the origin of the modern city of Constantinople? 
of Marseilles? of Naples? of Syracuse in Sicily? 



Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans 
in the palace at Gnossus, Crete. 
The material is gypsum. This in¬ 
teresting object dates from about 
1500 B.C. 


CHAPTER V 

THE GREAT AGE OF THE GREEK REPUBLICS TO 362 B.C. 1 


31. The Perils of Hellas 


The history of the Greeks for many centuries had been un¬ 
eventful—a history of their uninterrupted expansion over 


barbarian lands. Asiatic 
But now the Greeks con- 
time was ap- 
proaching when 
the independent and isolated 
Greek communities must 
meet the attack of the great 
despotic empires of Asia. 
The Greek cities of Asia 
Minor were the first part of 
the Hellenic world to be in¬ 
volved. Their conquest by 
the Lydian king, Croesus, 
about the middle of the sixth 
century B.C., showed how 
grave was the danger to Greek 
independence from the am¬ 
bitious designs of Oriental 
monarchs. 

As we have already learned, 
Croesus himself conquests of 



Painting on an Athenian vase of about 490 
B.c. According to the legend Cyrus the Great, 
having made Croesus prisoner, intended to 
bum him on a pyre. But the god Apollo, to 
whose oracle at Delphi Croesus had sent rich 
gifts, put out the blaze by a sudden shower 
of rain. The vase painting represents the 
Lydian king sitting enthroned upon the pyre, 
with a laurel wreath on his head and a scep¬ 
ter in one hand. With the other hand he 
pours a libation. He seems to be performing 
a religious rite, not to be suffering an igno¬ 
minious death. 


The subjugation 


soon had to sub- Cyrus and 
. . Cambyses 

mit to a foreign 

overlord, in the person of Cyrus the Great. 

. Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter vii “Xerxes and the Persian 
Invasion of Greece”; chapter viii, “Episodes from the Pekpormesran War riapter 
k, “ Alcibiades the Athenian”; chapter x, “The Expedition of the Ten Thousand , 
chapter xi, “The Trial and Death of Socrates.” 

93 




















94 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 


of Lydia and the Greek seaboard by Cyrus extended the Per¬ 
sian Empire to the Mediterranean. The conquest of Phoenicia 
and Cyprus by Cambyses added the Phoenician navy to the 
_ . resources of the mighty 

empire. Persia had now 
become a sea power, able 
to cope with the Greeks 
on their own element. 
The subjection of Egypt 
by the same king led nat¬ 
urally to the annexation 
of the Greek colonies on 
the north African shore. 
The entire coast of the 
eastern Mediterranean 
had now come under the 
control of a new, power¬ 
ful, and hostile state. 

The accession of Da¬ 
rius to the Persian throne 



Persian Archers 

Louvre, Paris 

A frieze of enameled brick from the royal palace 
at Susa. It is a masterpiece of Persian art and shows 
the influence of both Assyrian and Greek design. 
Each archer carries a spear, in addition to the bow 
over the left shoulder and the quiver on the back. 
These soldiers probably served as palace guards, hence 
the fine robes worn by them. 


Conquests 
of Darius 


only in¬ 
creased the 
dangers that overshad¬ 
owed Hellas. He aimed 
to complete the work of 
Cyrus and Cambyses by 
extending the empire 
wherever a natural 
frontier had not been reached. Accordingly, about 512 b.c., 
Darius invaded Europe with a large army, annexed the Greek 
colonies on the Hellespont (the modern Dardanelles), and sub¬ 
dued the wild tribes of Thrace and Macedonia. The Persian 
dominions now touched those of the Greeks. 

Not long after this European expedition of Darius, ’the Ionian 
cities of Asia Minor revolted against the Persians. Unable to 
face their foes single-handed, they sought aid from Sparta, then 

















Expeditions of Darius against Greece 95 

the chief military power of Greece. The Spartans refused to 
take part in the war, but the Athenians, who real- The Ionian 
ized the menace to Greece in the Persian advance, Revolt, 
sent ships and men to fight for the Ionians. Even 499-493 BC - 
with this help the Ionian cities could not hold out against the 
vast resources of the Persians. One by one they fell again into 
the hands of the Great King. 


32 . Expeditions of Darius against Greece 

No sooner was quiet restored in Asia Minor than Darius 
began preparations to punish First expedi- 
Athens for her part in the Ionian tlon> 492 B * c - 
Revolt. The first expedition under the com¬ 
mand of Mardonius, the son-in-law of the 
Persian monarch, was a failure. Mardonius 
never reached Greece, because the Persian 
fleet, on which his army depended for pro¬ 
visions, was wrecked off the promontory of 
Mount Athos. 

Darius did not abandon his designs, in con¬ 
sequence of the disaster. Two years later a 
second fleet, bearing a force of Second expe _ 
perhaps sixty thousand men, set dition, 490 
out from Ionia for Greece. 

Datis and Artaphernes, the Persian leaders, 
sailed straight across the Jhgean and landed 
on the plain of Marathon, twenty-six miles 
from Athens. 

The situation of the Athenians seemed 
desperate. They had scarcely ten thousand 
men with whom to face an Battle 0 f 

armv far larger and hitherto Marathon, 

J ° 490 B.C. 

invincible. The Spartans prom¬ 
ised support, but delayed sending troops at t^ntesixth• JntTiJ b2 
the critical moment. Better, perhaps, than incorrectly called the 

, . . -.,.1,. 1 “Warrior of Marathon.” 

a Spartan army was the genius of Miltiades, 

one of the Athenian generals. Relying on Greek discipline and 



Gravestone oe 
Aristion 

National Museum, 
Athens 

Found near Marathon 
in 1838 a . d . Belongs to 








96 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 

Greek valor to win the day, he decided to take the offensive. 
His heavy-armed soldiers made a smashing charge on the Per¬ 
sians and drove them in confusion to their ships. Datis and 



Artaphernes then sailed back to Asia with their errand of ven¬ 
geance unfulfilled. 

After the battle of Marathon the Athenians began to make 
Policies of preparations to resist another Persian invasion. 
Aristides and One of their leaders, the eminent Aristides, thought 
Themistocles they s h 0 uld increase their army and meet the 

enemy bn land. His rival, Themistocles, urged a different policy. 
He would sacrifice the army to the navy and make Athens the 
strongest sea power in Greece. The safety of Athens, he argued, 

























Xerxes and the Great Persian War 


97 


lay in her ships. In order to settle the question the opposing 
statesmen were put to the test of ostracism. 1 The vote went 
against Aristides, who was obliged to withdraw into exile. The- 
mistocles, now master of the situation, persuaded the citizens 
to use the revenues from some silver mines in Attica for the 
upbuilding of a fleet. When the Persians came, the Athenians 
were able to oppose them with nearly two hundred triremes 2 
— the largest navy in Greece. 

% 33 . Xerxes and the Great Persian War 

“Ten years after Marathon,” says a Greek historian, “the 
‘ barbarians ’ returned with the vast armament which was to en¬ 
slave Hellas.” 3 Preparations 
Darius was now of Persia 
dead, but his son Xerxes had 
determined to complete his 
task. Vast quantities of pro¬ 
visions were collected; the 
Hellespont was bridged with 
boats; and the rocky prom¬ 
ontory of Mount Athos, 
where a previous fleet had 
suffered shipwreck, was 
pierced with a canal. An 
army of several hundred 
thousand men was brought together from all parts of the Great 
King’s domain. He evidently intended to crush the Greeks by 
sheer weight of numbers. 

Xerxes did not have to attack a united Greece. His mighty 
preparations frightened many of the Greek states into yielding, 
when Persian heralds came to demand “earth and Greek 
water,” the customary symbols of submission. Preparations 
Some of the other states, such as Thebes, which was jealous of 
Athens, and Argos, equally jealous of Sparta, did nothing to 
help the loyal Greeks throughout the struggle. But Athens 
and Sparta with their allies remained joined for resistance to 

i See page 87. 2 See the illustration, page 99. 8 Thucydides, i, 18. 



A Themistocles Ostrakon 

British Museum, London 
A fragment of a potsherd found in 1897 a.d., 
near the Acropolis of Athens. This ostrakon 
was used to vote for the ostracism of The¬ 
mistocles, either in 483 B.c. when he was 
victorious against Aristides, or some ten years 
later, when Themistocles was himself defeated 
and forced into exile. 





98 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 


the end. Upon the suggestion of Themistocles a congress of 
representatives from the patriotic states assembled at the 
isthmus of Corinth in 481 b.c. Measures of defense were taken, 
and Sparta was put in command of the allied fleet and army. 

The campaigns of the Great Persian War have been described, 
once for all, in the glowing pages of the Greek historian, Herod- 
Battie of otus. 1 Early in the year 480 b.c. the Persian host 
Thermo pylae, moved out of Sardis, crossed the Hellespont, and 
advanced to the pass of Thermopylae, commanding 
the entrance to central Greece. This position, one of great 
natural strength, was held by a few thousand Greeks under the 
Spartan king, Leonidas. For two days Xerxes hurled his best 
soldiers against the defenders of Thermopylae, only to find that 
numbers did not count in that narrow defile. There is no telling 
how long the handful of Greeks might have kept back the 
Persian hordes, had not treachery come to the aid of the enemy. 
A traitor Greek revealed to Xerxes the existence of an unfre¬ 
quented path, leading over the mountain in the rear of the pass. 
A Persian detachment marched over the trail by night and 
took up a position behind the Greeks. The latter still had time 
to escape, but three hundred Spartans and perhaps two thou¬ 
sand allies refused to desert their post. While Persian officers 
provided with whips lashed their unwilling troops to battle, 
Leonidas and his men fought till spears and swords were broken, 
and hands and teeth alone remained as weapons. Xerxes at 
length gained the pass — but only over the bodies of its heroic 
defenders. Years later a monument to their memory was 
raised on the field of battle. It bore the simple inscription: 
“ Stranger, go tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to 
their commands.” 2 

After the disaster at Thermopylae nearly all the states of 
central Greece submitted to the Persians. They marched 
After rapidly through Bceotia and Attica to Athens, 

Thermopylae fort f 0U nd a deserted city. Upon the advice of 
Themistocles the non-combatants had withdrawn to places 
of safety, and the entire fighting force of Athens had embarked 


1 See page 272. 


2 Herodotus, vii, 228. 



Xerxes and the Great Persian War 


99 


on the ships. The Athenian fleet took up a position in the strait 
separating the island of Salamis from Attica and awaited the 
enemy. 1 

The battle of Salamis affords an interesting example of naval 
tactics in antiquity. The trireme was regarded as a missile to 
be hurled with sudden violence against the oppos- Battle of Saia- 
ing ship, in order to disable or sink it. A sea mis > 480 B - c - 
fight became a series of maneuvers; and victory depended as 


oV 

'300QaCpfeCJOC 1 / 
CriTO'O'TT' -" 


An Athenian Trireme 


Bas-relief found on the Acropolis of Athens. Dates from about 400 B.c. The part of the 
relief preserved shows the waist of the vessel, with the uppermost of the three banks of rowers. 
Only the oars of the two lower banks are seen. 


much on the skill of the rowers and steersmen as on the bravery 

of the soldiers. The Persians at Salamis had many more ships 

than the Greeks, but Themistocles rightly believed that in the 

narrow strait their numbers would be a real disadvantage to 

them. Such proved to be the case. The Persians fought well, 

but their vessels, crowded together, could not navigate properly 

and even wrecked one another by collision. After an all-day 

contest what remained of their fleet withdrew from the strait. 

The victory at Salamis had important results. It so crippled 

the Persians that henceforth they lost command of the sea. 

Xerxes found it difficult to keep his men supplied . 

After Salamis 

with provisions and at once withdrew with the _________ 

larger part of his force to Asia. The Great King himself had 
no heart for further fighting, but he left Mardonius, with a 
strong body of picked troops, to subjugate the Greeks on land. 
So the real crisis of the war was yet to come. 

1 See the map on page 107. 






ioo The Great Age of the Greek Republics 

Mardonius passed the winter quietly in Thessaly, prepar¬ 
ing for the spring campaign. The Greeks in their turn made 

Battles of a e ^ ort * ^ stron g Spartan army, supported 

Piatsea and by the Athenians and their allies, met the . Per- 

iVtyeaie, sians near the little town of Plataea in Boeotia. 

479 B.C. 

Here the heavy-armed Greek soldiers, with their 
long spears, huge shields, and powerful swords, easily over¬ 
came the enormous masses of the enemy. The success at 
Plataea showed how superior to the Persians were the Greeks 
in equipment, leadership, and fighting power. At the same 
time as this battle the remainder of the Persian fleet suffered 
a crushing defeat at Mycale, a promontory off the Ionian 
coast. These two battles really ended the war. Never again 
was Persia to make a serious effort to secure dominion over 
Continental Greece. 

The Great Persian War was much more ,than a conflict 
between two rival states. It was a struggle between East 
Victorious and West; between Oriental despotism and Occi- 
Hellas dental individualism. On the one side were all 

tlje populous, centralized countries of Asia; on the other side, 
the small, disunited states of Greece. In the East was the 
boundless wealth, in men and money, of a world-wide empire. 
In the West were the feeble resources of a few petty commu¬ 
nities. Nevertheless Greece won. The story of her victory 
forms an imperishable record in the annals of human freedom. 


34 . Athens under Themistocles, Aristides, and Cimon 

After the battle of Plataea the Athenians, with their wives 
and children, returned to Attica and began the restoration of 
. , their city, which the Persians had burned. Their 

and the forti- first care was to raise a wall so high and strong 
Athens ° f ^at Athens in future would be impregnable to 
attack. Upon the suggestion of Themistocles it 
was decided to include within the fortifications a wide area 
where all the country people, in case of another invasion, 
could find a refuge. Themistocles also persuaded the Athe¬ 
nians to build a massive wall on the land side of Piraeus, the 


Athens under Themistocles and Aristides ioi 


port of Athens. That harbor town now became the center 

of Athenian industry and commerce. 

While the Athenians were rebuilding their city, important 

events were taking place in the iLgean. After the battle of 

Mycale the Greek states in Asia Minor and on . . 
.... . i-i Aristides and 

the islands once more rose m revolt against the the Delian 

Persians. Aided by Sparta and Athens, they league, 477 
gained several successes and removed the im¬ 
mediate danger of another Persian attack. It was clearly 



“ Theseum ” 


An Athenian temple, formerly supposed to have been constructed by Cimon to receive 
the bones of the hero Theseus. It is now believed to have been a temple of Hephaestus 
and Athena, erected about 440 b.c. The “Theseum” owes its almost perfect preserva¬ 
tion to the fact that during the Middle Ages it was used as a church. 

necessary, however, for the Greek cities in Asia Minor and 
the JE gean to remain in close alliance with the Continental 
Greeks, if they were to preserve their independence. Under 
the guidance of Aristides, the old rival of Themistocles, 1 the 
allies formed a union known as the Delian League. 

The larger cities in the league agreed to provide ships and 
crews for a fleet, while the smaller cities were to make their 
contributions in money. Athens assumed the Constitution 
presidency of the league, and Athenian officials of the league 
collected the revenues, which were placed in a treasury on the 

1 See page 96. 



io2 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 


the war 
against Persia 


island of Delos. As head of this new federation Athens now had 
a position of supremacy in the iEgean like that which Sparta 
enjoyed in the Peloponnesus. 1 

The man who succeeded Themistocles and Aristides in leader¬ 
ship of the Athenians was Cimon, son of Miltiades, the hero 
Cimon and M ara thon. While yet a youth his gallantry at 

the battle of Salamis gained him a great reputation, 
and when Aristides introduced him to public life 
the citizens welcomed him gladly. He soon became the head of 
the aristocratic or conservative party in the Athenian city. To 
Cimon the Delian League intrusted the continuation of the war 
with Persia. The choice was fortunate, for Cimon had inherited 
his father’s military genius. No man did more than he to hum¬ 
ble the pride of Persia. As the outcome of Cimon’s successful 
campaigns the southern coast of Asia Minor was added to the 
Delian League, and the Greek cities at the mouth of the Black Sea 
were freed from the Persian yoke. Thus, with Cimon as its leader, 
the confederacy completed the liberation of the Asiatic Greeks. 

While the Greeks were gaining these victories, the character 

of the Delian League was being transformed. Many of the 

The Delian cities, instead of furnishing ships, had taken the 

League be- easier course of making all their contributions in 
comes sub- 

ject to Athens, money. The change really played into the hands 
about 454 B.C. 0 f Athens, for the tribute enabled the Athenians 
to build the ships themselves and add them to their own navy. 
They soon had a fleet powerful enough to coerce any city that 
failed to pay its assessments or tried to withdraw from the league. 
Eventually the common treasure was transferred from Delos to 
Athens. The date of this event (454 b.c.) may be taken as mark¬ 
ing the formal establishment of the Athenian naval empire. 

'Sparta and her Peloponnesian allies viewed with growing 
Decline of jealousy the rapid rise of Athens. As long, how- 
Cimon’s ever, as Cimon remained at the head of Athenian 
affairs, there was little danger of a break with 
Sparta. He desired his city to keep on good terms with her 
powerful neighbor: Athens should be mistress of the seas, and 

1 See page 83. 


Athens under Pericles 


103 


Sparta should be mistress on the mainland. A contest between 
them, Cimon foresaw, would work lasting injury to all Greece. 
Cimon’s pro-Spartan attitude brought him, however, into 
disfavor at Athens, and he was ostracized. New men and 
new policies henceforth prevailed in the Athenian state. 

35 . Athens under Pericles 

The ostracism of Cimon deprived the aristocrats of their 
most prominent representative. It was possible for the demo¬ 
cratic or liberal party to Pericles 
assume complete control 
of public affairs. Pericles, their leader 
and champion, was a man of studious 
habits. He never appeared on the 
streets except when walking between his 
house and the popular assembly or the 
market place, kept rigidly away from 
dinners and drinking bouts, and ruled 
his household with strict economy that 
he might escape the suspicion of enrich¬ 
ing himself at the public expense. He 
did not speak often before the people, 
but came forward only on special occa¬ 
sions; and the rarity of his utterances 
gave them added weight. Pericles was a 
thorough democrat, but he used none of 
the arts of the demagogue. He scorned 
to flatter the populace. His power over 
the people rested on his majestic elo¬ 
quence, on his calm dignity of demeanor, 
and above all on his unselfish devotion to the welfare of Athens. 

The period, about thirty years in length, between the ostra¬ 
cism of Cimon and the death of Pericles, forms the Age of Peri _ 
most brilliant epoch in Greek history. Under the cies, 461^29 
guidance of Pericles the Athenian naval empire 
reached its widest extent. Through his direction Athens became 
a complete democracy. Inspired by him the Athenians came to 



Pericles 


British Museum, London 
The bust is probably a good 
copy of a portrait statue set up 
during the bfetime of Pericles 
on the Athenian Acropolis. 
The helmet possibly indicates 
the office of General held by 
Pericles. 



104 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 

manifest that love of knowledge, poetry, art, and all beautiful 
things which, even more than their empire or their democracy, 
has made* them famous in the annals of mankind. The Age 
of Pericles affords, therefore, a convenient opportunity to set 
forth the leading features of Athenian civilization in the days 
of its greatest glory. 

Athens under Pericles ruled more than two hundred towns 
and cities in Asia Minor and the islands of the yEgean Sea. 1 
Athenian The subjects of Athens, in return for the protection 
imperialism that she gave them against Persia, owed many 
obligations. They paid an annual tribute and furnished soldiers 
in time of war. In all legal cases of importance the citizens had 
to go to Athens for trial by Athenian courts. The Delian com¬ 
munities, in some instances, were forced to endure the presence 
of Athenian garrisons and officers. To the Greeks at large all 
this seemed nothing less than high-handed tyranny. Athens, 
men felt, had built up an empire on the ruins of Hellenic liberty. 

If the Athenians possessed an empire, they themselves were 
citizens of a state more democratic than any other that has 
Nature of the exls ted, before or since, in the history of the world. 
Athenian They had now learned how unjust was the rule of 
democracy a ty ran t or 0 f a privileged class of nobles. They 
tried, instead, to afford every one an opportunity to make the 
laws, to hold office, and to administer justice. Hence the 
Athenian popular assembly and law courts were open to all 
respectable citizens. The offices, also, were made very nu¬ 
merous — fourteen hundred i n al l — so that they might be 
distributed as widely as possible. Most of them were annual, 
and some could not be held twice by the same person. Elec¬ 
tion to office was usually by lot. This arrangement did away 
with favoritism and helped to give the poor man a chance in 
politics, as well as the man of wealth or noble birth. 

The center of Athenian democracy was the Assembly. Its mem- 
The bership included every citizen who had reached 

Assembly twenty years of age. Rarely, however, did the at¬ 
tendance number more than five thousand, since most of the 

1 See the map facing page 108. 



Athens under Pericles 


105 


citizens lived outside the walls in the country districts of Attica. 
Forty regular meetings were held every year. These took place 
on the slopes of the hill called the Pnyx. A speaker before the 
Assembly faced a difficult audience. It was ready to yell its dis¬ 
approval of his advice, to mock him if he mispronounced a 
word, or to drown his voice with shouts and whistles. Natu- 


An Athenian Inscription 

A decree of the Assembly, dating from about 450 B.c. 

rally, the debates became a training school for orators. No one 
could make his mark in the Assembly who was not a clear and in¬ 
teresting speaker. Voting was by show of hands, except in cases 
affecting individuals, such as ostracism, when the ballot was used. 
Whatever the decision of the Assembly, it was final. This great 
popular gathering settled questions of war and peace, sent out 
military and naval expeditions, voted public expenditures, and 
had general control over the affairs of Athens and the empire. 

The Assembly was assisted in the conduct of public business 
by many officers and magistrates, among whom the Ten Gen¬ 
erals held the leading place. It was their duty to The Ten 
guide the deliberations of the Assembly and to Geuerals 
execute the orders of that body. 

There was also a system of popular jury courts composed of 
citizens selected by lot from the candidates who The jury 
presented themselves. The number of jurors courts 
varied; as many as a thousand might serve at an important 


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& • A H I< aA # K P * m A <. I T c**' 
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io 6 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 


trial. A court was both judge and jury; it decided by majority 
vote; and from its decision lay no appeal. Before these courts 
public officers accused of wrong-doing were tried; disputes 
between different cities of the empire and other important 
cases were settled; and all ordinary legal business affecting 
the Athenians themselves was transacted. Thus, even in 
matters of law, the Athenian government was completely 
democratic. 

Democracy then, reached its height in ancient Athens. The 
people ruled, and they ruled directly. Every citizen had some 
„ , , active part in politics. Such a system worked 

Strength and „ . , r „ . 

weakness of well in the management of a small city-state like 

the Athenian Athens. But if the Athenians could govern them- 
democracy . . 

selves, they proved unable to govern an empire 
with justice and wisdom. There was no such thing as represen¬ 
tation in their constitution. The subject cities had no one to 
speak for them in the Assembly or before the jury courts. 
We shall notice the same absence of a representative system 
in republican Rome. 1 

A large number of Athenians were relieved from the necessity 
of working for themselves through the system of state pay 
System of introduced by Pericles. Jurors, soldiers, and 

state pay sailors received money for their services. Later, 

in the fourth century, citizens accepted fees for attending the 
Assembly. These payments, though small, enabled poor citizens 
to devote much time to public duties. 

Athens contained many skilled workmen whose daily tasks 
gave them scant opportunity to engage in the exciting game of 
industrial politics. The average rate of wages was very low. 

In spite of cheap food and modest requirements 
for clothing and shelter, it must have been difficult for the 
laborer to keep body and soul together. Outside of Athens, in 
the country districts of Attica, lived the peasants whose little 
farms produced the olives, grapes, and figs for which Attica was 
celebrated. 

There were many thousands of slaves in Athens and Attica 
1 See page 155. 


Athens under Pericles 


107 


at this period. Their number was so great and their labor so 

cheap that we may thiuk of them as taking the ^ 

place of modern machines. It was the slaves who 

did most of the work on the large estates owned by wealthy men, 



The Vicinity of Athens 


who toiled in the mines and quarries, and who served as oarsmen 
on the ships. The system of slavery enabled many an Athenian 
to live a life of leisure, but it lowered the dignity of labor and 
tended to prevent the rise of the poorer citizens to positions of 
responsibility. In Greece, as in the Orient , 1 slavery cast its 
blight over free industry. m 

The Athenian city was now the chief center of Greek com¬ 
merce . 2 “ The fruits of the whole earth,” said Pericles, “ flow 
in upoh us; so that we enjoy the goods of other Commercial 
countries as freely as of our own .” 3 Exports of Athens 
wine and olive oil, pottery, metal wares, and objects of art 
were sent out from Piraeus to every region of the Mediterra¬ 
nean. The imports from the Black Sea region, Thrace, and 

1 See page 44- 

2 The commercial importance of Athens is indicated by the general adoption of 
her monetary standard by the other Greek states. (For illustrations of Greek coins 
see the plate facing page 134.) 

3 Thucydides, ii, 38. 





ro 8 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 

the iEgean included such commodities as salt, dried fish, wool, 
timber, hides, and, above all, great quantities of wheat. Very 
much as modern England, Athens was able to feed all her people 
only by bringing in food from abroad. To make sure that in 
time of war there should be no interruption of food supplies, 
the Athenians built the celebrated Long Walls, between the 
city and its port of Piraeus. 1 Henceforth they felt secure from 
attack, as long as their navy ruled the ^Egean. 

In the days of her prosperity Athens began to make herself 
not only a strong, but also a beautiful, city. The temples and 
Artistic and other structures which were raised on the Acropolis 
intellectual during the Age of Pericles still excite, even in their 
ruins, the envy and wonder of mankind. 2 Athens 
at this time was also the center of Greek intellectual life. In no 
other period of similar length have so many admirable books 
been produced. No other epoch has given birth to so many 
men of varied and delightful genius. The greatest poets, his¬ 
torians, and philosophers of Greece were Athenians, either by 
birth or training. As Pericles himself said in a noble speech, 
Athens was “the school of Hellas.” 3 

36. The Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C. 

^£he brilliant Age of Pericles had not come to an end before 
the two chief powers in the Hellenic world became involved in a 
Inevitable- deadly war. It would seem that Athens and 
ness of the Sparta, the one supreme upon the sea, the other at 
the head of the Peloponnesus, might have avoided 
a struggle which was sure to be long and costly. But Greek 
cities were always ready to fight one another. When Athens and 
Sparta found themselves rivals for the leadership of Greece, it 
was easy for the smouldering fires of distrust and jealousy to 
flame forth into open conflict. “And at that time,” says 
Thucydides, the Athenian historian who described the struggle, 
“the youth of Sparta and the youth of Athens were numerous; 


1 See the map, page 107. 

* For a description of ancient Athens see pages 288-292. 

* Thucydides, ii, 41. 




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The Peloponnesian War 


109 


they had never seen war, and were therefore very willing to 
take up arms.” 1 

The conflict was brought on by Corinth, one of the leading 
> members of the Peloponnesian League and, next to Athens, the 
most important commercial power in Greece. Origin of the 
She had already seen her once-profitable trade in war 
the iLgean monopolized by Athens. That energetic city was 
now reaching out for Corinthian 
commerce in Italian and Sicilian 
waters. When the Athenians 
went so far as to interfere in a 
quarrel between Corinth and her 
colony of Corcyra, even allying 
themselves with the latter city, 
the Corinthians felt justly resent¬ 
ful and appealed to Sparta for aid. 

The Spartans listened to their 
appeal and, with the apparent 
approval of the Delphic oracle 
which assured them “that they 
would conquer if they fought with 
all their might,” 2 declared war. 

The two antagonists were fairly 
matched. The one was strong 
where the other was Resources of 
weak. Sparta, ^ ts contest “ 
mainly a continental 
power, commanded all the Pelo- 

ponnesian states except Argos and Aclwea, besides some of the 
smaller states of central Greece. Athens, mainly a maritime 
power, ruled all the subject cities of the yEgean. The Spartans 
possessed the most formidable army then in the world, but 
lacked money and ships. The Athenians had a magnificent 
navy, an overflowing treasury, and a city impregnable to di¬ 
rect attack. It seemed, in fact, as if neither side could 
seriously injure the other. 

1 Thucydides, ii, 8. ! Thucydides, i, 118. 



The “Mourning Athena” 

Acropolis Museum, Athens 
A tablet of Pentelic marble. Athena, 
leaning on her spear, is gazing with 
downcast head at a grave monument. 












no The Great Age of the Greek Republics 

The war began in 431 b.c. Its first stage was indecisive. 
The Athenians avoided a conflict in the open field with 
First stage of the stronger Peloponnesian army, which ravaged 
the war, Attica. They were crippled almost at the outset * 

431-421 B.c. t j ie strU ggi e by a terrible plague among the 
refugees from Attica, crowded behind the Long Walls. The pes¬ 
tilence slew at least one-fourth of the 
inhabitants of Athens, including Pericles 
himself. After ten years of fighting both 
sides grew weary of the war and made a 
treaty of peace to last for fifty years. 

Not long after the conclusion of peace 
the Athenians were persuaded by a 
The Sicilian brilliant and ambitious 
Expedition, politician, named Alcibiades, 
415-413 B.c. £ 0 unc [ er t a k e an expedition 

against Syracuse in Sicily. This city 
was a colony of Corinth, and hence was a 
natural ally of the Peloponnesian states. 
The Athenians, by conquering it, ex¬ 
pected to establish their power in Sicily. 
But the siege of Syracuse ended in a com¬ 
plete failure. The Athenians failed to 
capture the city, and in a great naval 
Arethusa haT been styieTthe battle they lost their fleet. Then they 
most exquisite Greek head tried to retreat by land, but soon had 

known to us. i n r 

to surrender. Many of the prisoners 
were sold as slaves; many were thrown by their inhuman cap- 
tors into the stone quarries near Syracuse, where they perished 
from exposure and starvation. The Athenians, says Thucyd¬ 
ides, “were absolutely annihilated — both army and fleet — 
and of the many thousands who went away only a handful ever 
saw their homes again.” 1 

Athens never recovered from this terrible blow. The Spartans 
quickly renewed the contest, now with the highest hopes of 
success. The Athenians had to guard their city against the 

1 Thucydides, vii, 87. 



The Spartan and Theban Supremacies iii 

invader night and day; their slaves deserted to the enemy; 
and they themselves could do no farming except Last stage of 
under the walls of the city. For supplies they had the war, 
to depend entirely on their ships. For nearly ten 
years, however, the Athenians kept up the struggle. At length 
the Spartans captured an Athenian fleet near iEgospotami on 
the Hellespont. Soon afterwards they blockaded Piraeus and 
their army encamped before the walls of Athens. Bitter fam¬ 
ine compelled the Athenians to sue for peace. The Spartans 
imposed harsh terms. The Athenians were obliged to destroy 
their Long Walls and the fortifications of Piraeus, to surren¬ 
der all but twelve of their warships, and to acknowledge the 
supremacy of Sparta. 

37 . The Spartan and Theban Supremacies, 

404-362 B.C. 

Sparta was now the undisputed leader of Continental Greece 
and of the iEgean. As the representative of the liberty-loving 
Greeks she had humbled the pride and power of spartan des- 
“tyrant” Athens. A great opportunity lay before potlsm 
her to reorganize the Hellenic world and to end the struggles for 
supremacy between rival cities. But Sparta entered upon no 
such glorious career. She had always stood as the champion of 
aristocracy against democracy, and now in her hour of triumph 
she began to overturn every democratic government that still 
existed in Greece. The Greek cities soon found they had ex¬ 
changed the mild sway of Athens for the brutal despotism of 
Sparta. 

But Spartan despotism provoked resistance. It was the 
Boeotian city of Thebes which raised the standard of revolt. 
Some of the liberty-loving Thebans, headed by The f ree mg 
Pelopidas, a patriotic noble, formed a conspiracy °*™ e £ es ’ 
to drive the Spartans out of the city. Disguised 
as huntsmen, Pelopidas and his followers entered Thebes at 
nightfall, killed the tyrants whom Sparta had set over the people, 
and forced the Spartan garrison to surrender. 

The Thebans had now recovered their independence. Eight 


112 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 



years later, under the skillful commander, Epaminondas, they 
Battle of totally defeated a superior Peloponnesian force at 
Leuctra, the battle of Leuctra and brought the suprem¬ 

acy of Sparta to an end. 

By crippling Sparta, Epaminondas raised Thebes to a posi¬ 
tion of supremacy. Had he been spared for a longer service, 
Battle of Epaminondas might have realized his dream of 
Mantinea, bringing unity and order into the troubled politics 
of his time. But circumstances were too strong 
for him. The Greek states, which had accepted the leadership 
of Athens and Sparta, were unwilling to admit the claims of 
Thebes to a position of equal power and importance. The 
period of Theban rule was filled, therefore, with perpetual 




































Decline of the City-State 113 

conflict. Nine years after Leuctra Epaminondas himself fell in 
battle at Mantinea in the Peloponnesus, and with his death 
ended the brief glory of Thebes. 

38. Decline of the City-State 

The battle of Mantinea proved that no single city — Athens, 

Sparta, or Thebes — was strong enough to rule Greece. By 

the middle of the fourth century b.c. it had be- Weakne ss of 

come evident that a great Hellenic power could the city- 

states 

not be created out of the little, independent city- 
states of Greece. 

The history of Continental Hellas for more than a century 
after the close of the Persian War had been a record of almost 
ceaseless conflict. We have seen how Greece came A record of 
to be split up into two great alliances, the one a almost cease- 
naval league ruled by Athens, the other a confed¬ 
eracy of Peloponnesian cities under the leadership of Sparta. 
How the Delian League became the Athenian Empire; how 
Sparta began a long war with Athens to secure the independ¬ 
ence of the subject states and ended it by reducing them to her 
own supremacy; how the rough-handed sway of Sparta led to 
the revolt of her allies and dependencies and the sudden rise 
of Thebes to supremacy; how Thebes herself established an 
empire on the ruins of Spartan rule — this is a story of fruitless 
and exhausting struggles which sounded the knell of Greek 
liberty and the end of the city-state. 

Far away in the north, remote from the noisy conflicts of 
Greek political life, a new power was slowly rising to imperial 
greatness — no insignificant city-state, but an The future 
extensive territorial state like those of modern 
times. Three years after the battle of Mantinea Philip II 
ascended the throne of Macedonia. He established Hellenic 
unity by bringing the Hellenic people within a widespread 
empire. Alexander the Great, the son of this king, car¬ 
ried Macedonian dominion and Greek culture to the ends 
of the known world. To this new period of ancient history 
we now turn. 


114 The Great Age of the Greek Republics 


Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the principal places mentioned in this chapter. 
2. On an outline map indicate the Athenian allies and dependencies and those of 
Sparta at the opening of the Peloponnesian War. 3. What do you understand by 
a “decisive” battle? Why has Marathon been considered such a battle? 4. Why 
did Xerxes take the longer route through Thrace, instead of the shorter route fol¬ 
lowed by Datis and Artaphemes? 5. What was the importance of the Phoenician 
fleet in the Persian invasions? 6. What reasons can be given for the Greek vic¬ 
tory in the struggle against Persia? 7. Distinguish between a confederacy and an 
empire. 8. Compare the relations of the Delian subject cities to Athens with those 
of British colonies, such as Canada and Australia, to England. 9.' What do you 
understand by representative government? 10. If the Athenian Empire could have 
rested on a representative basis, why would it have been more likely to endure? 
11. How far can the phrase ‘ * government of the people, by the people, for the people” 
be applied to the Athenian democracy? 12. Did the popular assembly of Athens 
have any resemblance to a New England town meeting? 13. Compare the Athenian 
jury system with that of England and the United States. 14. The Ath enian de¬ 
mocracy of the time of Pericles has been described as a pure democracy and not, like 
the American, as a representative democracy. In what lies the difference? 15. Can 
you suggest any objections to the system of state pay introduced by Pericles? To 
what extent do we employ the same system under our government? 16. What 
conditions of the time help to explain the contempt of the Greeks for money-making? 
17. Trace on the map, page 107, the Long Walls of Athens. 18. Why has the Pelo¬ 
ponnesian War been called an “irrepressible conflict”? Why has it been called the 
“suicide of Greece”? 19. Contrast the resources of the contending parties. 
Where was each side weak and where strong? ao. Why was the tyranny of Sparta 
more oppressive than that of Athens? at. What were the reasons for the failure 
of the Athenian, Spartan, and Theban attempts at empire? 



CHAPTER VI 


MINGLING OF EAST AND WEST AFTER 359 B.C. 1 


Macedociaas 


39 . Philip and the Rise of Macedonia 

The land of Macedonia, lying to the north of Greece, for a 
Ing time had been an inconspicuous part of the ancient world, 
tfe people, though only partially civilized, were Maced mia 
reeks in blood and language. Xo doubt they d** 
irmed an offshoot of those northern invaders 
bo had entered the Balkan peninsula before the dawn of 
istory. The Macedonian kings. 

Dm the era of the Persian wars, 
azed every’ opportunity of spread- 
ig Greek culture throughout their 
aim. By’ the middle of the 
Jurth century B.C., when Philip II 
?cended the throne, the Macedo- 
were ready’, to take a leading 
|ace in the Greek world. 

Philip of Macedonia, one of the 
lost remarkable men of antiquity, 
as endowed with a , ._ 

Hmnp 5 s r— > 

'gorous body’, a keen 

rind ‘ and a resolute will He was no stranger to Greece and 
s ways. Part of his boyhood had been passed as a hostage 
t Thebes in the days of Theban glory. His residence there 
ive him an insight into Greek politics and taught him toe art 
i war as it had been perfected by Epaminondas, In the cis- 
-acted condition of Greece, worn out by the rivalries ci con¬ 
fiding cities, Philip saw the opportunity’ of his own country. 

i Webster. Readings in Ancient History, chspcsr tie 

-ugsk against Philip”; chapter xS, “ExpfoaEs oi AVraa er the Qcesto 



Pehz? It 

Fiocs £ gsaci 2BBcauSaE Knot by 
Vesetirigg. 




n6 Mingling of East and West 

He aimed to secure for Macedonia the position of supremacy 
which neither Athens, Sparta, nor Thebes had been able to 
maintain. 

Philip’s most important achievement was the creation of the 
Macedonian army, which he led to the conquest of Greece and 
The Mace- which his son was to lead to the conquest of the 
donian army WO rld. Taking a hint from the tactics of Epam- 
inondas, Philip trained his infantry to fight by columns, but 
with sufficient intervals between the files to permit quick and 
easy movements. Each man bore an enormous lance, eighteen 
feet in length. When this heavy phalanx was set in array, the 
weapons carried by the soldiers in the first five ranks presented 
a bristling thicket of lance-points, which no onset, however 
determined, could penetrate. The business of the phalanx was 
to keep the front of the foe engaged, while horsemen rode into 
the enemy’s flanks. This reliance on masses of cavalry to win 
a victory was something new in warf are. Another novel feature 
consisted in the use of engines called catapults, able to throw 
darts and huge stones three hundred yards, and of battering 
rams with force enough to hurl down the walls of cities. AH 
these different arms working together made a war machine of 
tremendous power — the most formidable in the ancient world 
until the days of the Roman legion. 

Philip commanded a fine army; he ruled with absolute sway 
a territory larger than any other Hellenic state; and he himself 
Conquests possessed a genius for both war and diplomacy, 
of Philip With such advantages the Macedonian king en¬ 

tered on the subjugation of disunited Greece. His first great 
success was won in western Thrace. Here he founded the city 
of Philippi 1 and seized some rich gold mines, the income from 
which enabled him to keep his soldiers always under arms, to 
fit out a fleet, and, by means of liberal bribes, to hire a crowd 
of agents in nearly every Greek city. Philip next made Mace¬ 
donia a maritime state by subduing the Greek cities on the 
peninsula of Chalcidice. He also appeared in Thessaly, occu- 

1 Philippi became noted afterwards as the first city in Europe where Christianity 
was preached. See Acts, xvi, 9 . 


Demosthenes and the End of Greek Freedom 117 


pied its principal fortresses, and brought the frontier of Mace¬ 
donia as far south as the pass of Thermopylae. 

40. Demosthenes and the End of Greek Freedom 


Philip for many years had been steadily extending his sway 
over Greece. In the face of his en¬ 
croachments would Athens, D emost iie- 
Sparta, and Thebes, so nes, 384-322 
long the leading cities, sub- B,C * 
mit tamely to this Macedonian con¬ 
queror? There was one man, at least, 
who realized the menace to Greek free¬ 
dom from Philip’s onward march. In 
Demosthenes Greece found a champion 
of her threatened liberties. 

Demosthenes was the last, as well as 
the most famous, of the great Athenian 
orators. When he first be- Dem0 sthenes 

gan to speak, the citizens as an orator 
. . . , i • and a patriot 

laughed at his long, in¬ 
volved sentences, over-rapid delivery, 
and awkward bearing. Friends encour¬ 
aged him to persist, assuring him that, 

if the manner Of his Speeches Was bad, Vatican Museum, Rome 

their matter was worthy of Pericles. a marble statue, probably a 
• r ,i rr . copy of the bronze original by 

Numerous stones are told 01 tne enorts ^e sculptor Poiyeuctus. The 



made by Demosthenes to overcome his work, when found, was consid- 

J . . TT . j erably mutilated and has been 

natural defects. He practiced gestur restored in numerous parts. 

ing before a mirror and, to correct a Both forearms and the hands 

, . . , holding the scroll are modern 

stammering pronunciation, recited verses add i tions . It seems likely that 
with pebbles in his mouth. He would, the original Athenian statue 

c j showed Demosthenes with 

go down to the seashore during storms tightly c i asped hands, w hich, 

and strive to make his voice heard with his furrowed visage and 

. . contracted brows, were ex- 

above the roar of wind and waves, in pressive of the orator’s ear- 

order the better to face the boisterous nestness and concentration of 

- , . 1 i thought. 

Assembly. Before long he came to be 

regarded as the prince of speakers even in the city of orators. 





n8 Mingling of East and West 

Demosthenes was a man cast in the old heroic mold. His pa¬ 
triotic imagination had been fired by the great deeds once ac¬ 
complished by free Greeks. Athens he loved with passionate 
devotion. Let her remember her ancient glories, he urged, and, 
by withstanding Philip, become the leader of Hellas in a second 
war for liberty. 

The stirring appeals of the great orator at first had little 
effect. There were many friends of Philip in the Greek states, 
Last struggle even in Athens itself. When, however, Philip 
of the Greeks entered central Greece and threatened the inde¬ 
pendence of its cities, the eloquence of Demosthenes met a 
readier response. In the presence of the common danger 
Thebes and Athens gave up their ancient rivalry and formed a 
defensive alliance against Philip. Had it been joined by Sparta 
and the other Peloponnesian states, it is possible that their 
united power might have hurled back the invader. But they 
held aloof. 

The decisive battle was fought at Chaeronea in Bceotia. On 
that fatal field the well-drilled and seasoned troops of Mace- 
Battle of donia, headed by a master of the art of war, over- 

Chaeronea, came the citizen levies of Greece. The Greeks 

338 B C 

fought bravely, as of old, and their defeat was 
not inglorious. Near the modern town of Chaeronea the traveler 
can still see the tomb where the fallen heroes were laid, and 
the marble lion set up as a memorial to their dauntless 
struggle. 

Chaeronea gave Philip the undisputed control of Greece. 
But now that victory was assured, he had no intention of 
Philip’s policy playing the tyrant. He compelled Thebes to 
as conquerer a q m it a Macedonian garrison to her citadel, but 
treated Athens so mildly that the citizens were glad to conclude 
with him a peace which left their possessions untouched. Philip 
entered the Peloponnesus as a liberator. Its towns and cities 
welcomed an alliance with so powerful a protector against 
Sparta. 

Having completely realized his design of establishing Macedo¬ 
nian rule over Greece, Philip’s restless energy drove him forward 


Alexander the Great 


119 

to the next step in his ambitious program. He determined 
to carry out the plans, so long cherished by Congress at 
the Greeks, for an invasion of Asia Minor and, Corinth, 
perhaps, of Persia itself. In the year 337 b.c. a 337 BC ‘ 
congress of all the Hellenic states met at Corinth under the 


presidency of Philip. The del¬ 
egates voted to supply ships 
and men for the great under¬ 
taking and placed Philip 
in command of the allied 
forces. A Macedonian king 
was to be the captain-general 
of Hellas. 

But Philip was destined 
never to lead an Deathof 
army across the Philip, 
Hellespont. Less 336 B C ‘ 
than two years after Chaero- 
nea he was killed by an assassin, 
and the scepter passed to his 
young son, Alexander. 



Alexander the Great 

After a medallion found at Tarsus in 
Asia Minor. 


41. Alexander the Great 

Alexander was only twenty years of age when he became 
ruler of Macedonia. From his father he inherited the power¬ 
ful frame, the kingly figure, the masterful will, The youthful 
which made so deep an impression on all his con- Alexander 
temporaries. His mother, a proud and ambitious woman, 
told him that the blood of Achilles ran in his veins, and bade 
him emulate the deeds of that national hero. We know that 
he learned the Iliad by heart and always carried a copy of 
it on his campaigns. As he came to manhood, Alexander 
developed into a splendid athlete, skillful in all the sports of 
his rough-riding companions, and trained in every warlike 
exercise. 

Philip believed that in Alexander he had a worthy son, for 



120 


Mingling of East and West 


he persuaded Aristotle, 1 the most learned man in Greece, 
Education of to b ecome the tutor of the young prince. The 
Alexander by influence of that philosopher remained with Alex- 
Aristotle a nder throughout life. Aristotle taught him to 
love Greek art and science, and instilled into his receptive 
mind an admiration for all things Grecian. Alexander used to 
say that, while he owed his life to his father, he owed to Aris¬ 
totle the knowledge of how to live worthily. 

The situation which Alexander faced on his accession might 
well have dismayed a less dauntless spirit. Philip had not 
Alexander lived long enough to unite firmly his wide domin- 
cmshes re- ions. His unexpected death proved the signal for 
uprisings and disorder. The barbarous Thracians 
broke out in widespread rebellion, and the Greeks made ready to 
answer the call of Demosthenes to arms. But Alexander soon 
set his kingdom in order. After crushing the tribes of Thrace, 
he descended on Greece and besieged Thebes, which had risen 
against its Macedonian garrison. The city was soon captured; 
its inhabitants were slaughtered or sold into slavery; and the 
place itself was destroyed. The terrible fate of Thebes in¬ 
duced the other states to submit without further resistance. 

With Greece pacified, Alexander could proceed to the inva¬ 
sion of Persia. Since the days of Darius the Great the empire 
had remained almost intact — a huge, loosely- 
knit collection of many different peoples, whose 
sole bond of union was their common allegiance to 
the Great King. 2 Its resources were enormous. 
There were millions of men for the armies and untold wealth 
in the royal treasuries. Yet the empire was a hollow shell. 

Some seventy years before Alexander set forth on his expedi¬ 
tion the Greeks had witnessed a remarkable disclosure of the 
military weakness of Persia. One of those rare 
revolts which troubled the security of the Persian 
Empire broke out in Asia Minor. It was headed 
by Cyrus the Younger, a brother of the Persian 
Cyrus gathered a large body of native troops and 


Seeming 
strength of 
the Persian 
Empire 


Expedition of 
the “Ten 
Thousand,” 

401-400 B.C. 

monarch. 


1 See page 275. 


2 See page 39. 


Alexander the Great 


121 


also hired about ten thousand Greek soldiers. He led this 
mixed force into the heart of the Persian dominions, only to 
fall in battle at Cunaxa, near Babylon. The Greeks easily 
routed the enemy arrayed against them, but the death of 
Cyrus made their victory fruitless. In spite of their des¬ 



perate situation the Greeks refused to surrender and started 
to return homewards. The Persians dogged their footsteps, 
yet never ventured on a pitched battle. After months of 
wandering in Assyria and Armenia the little band of intrepid 
soldiers finally reached Trapezus, 1 a Greek city on the Black 
Sea. 

The story of this invasion of Persia and the subsequent re¬ 
treat was written by the Athenian Xenophon 2 in his Anabasis. 
It is one of the most interesting books that have significance of 
come down to us from antiquity. We can judge the expedition 
from it how vivid was the impression which the adventures of 
the “Ten Thousand” made on the Greeks of Xenophon’s time. 
A small army had marched to the center of the Persian domin- 

1 Modem Trebizond. * See page 272. 






















122 


Mingling of East and West 

ions, had overcome a host many times its size, and had returned 
to Greece in safety. It was clear proof that the Persian power, 
however imposing on the outside, could offer no effective resist¬ 
ance to an attack by a strong force of disciplined Greek sol¬ 
diers. Henceforth the Greeks never abandoned the idea of an 
invasion of Persia. 

The gigantic task fell, however, to Alexander, as the cham¬ 
pion of Hellas against the “ barbarians.” With an army of less 
Alexander’s than forty thousand men Alexander destroyed an 
invasion empire before which, for two centuries, all Asia 
had been wont to tremble. History, ancient or modern, con¬ 
tains no other record of conquests so widespread, so thorough, 
so amazingly rapid. 

42 . Conquest of Persia and the Far East, 334-323 B.C. 

Alexander crossed the Hellespont in the spring of the year 
334 b.c. He landed not far from the historic plain of Troy and 
Battle of the at once began his march along the coast. Near 
Granicus, 334 the little river Granicus the satraps of Asia Minor 
had gathered an army to dispute his passage. 
Alexander at once led his cavalry across the river in an impetu¬ 
ous charge, which soon sent the Persian troops in headlong 
flight. The victory cost the Macedonians scarcely a hundred 
men; but it was complete. As Alexander passed southward, 
town after town opened its gates — first Sardis, next Ephesus, 
then all the other cities of Ionia. They were glad enough to 
be free of Persian control. Within a year Asia Minor was a 
Macedonian possession. 

In the meantime Darius III, the Persian king, had been 
making extensive preparations to meet the invader. He com- 
Battle of manded half a million men, but he followed Alex- 

issus, 333 ander too hastily and had to fight in a narrow 

defile on the Syrian coast between the mountains 
and the sea. In such cramped quarters numbers did not count. 
The battle became a massacre, and only the approach of night 
stayed the swords of the victorious Macedonians. A great 
quantity of booty, including the mother, wife, and children of 


Conquest of Persia and the Far East 123 

Darius, fell into Alexander’s hands. He treated his royal 
captives kindly, but refused to make peace with the Persian 
king. 

The next step was to subdue the Phoenician city of Tyre, the 

headquarters of Persia’s naval power. The city lay on a rocky 

island, half a mile from the shore. Its fortifica- Capture 0 f 

tions rose one hundred feet above the waves. Tyre, 

332 B C 

Although the place seemed impregnable, Alex¬ 
ander was able to capture it after he had built a mole, or cause- 



Naples Museum 

This splendid mosaic, composed of pieces of colored glass, formed the pavement of a Roman 
house at Pompeii in Italy. It represents the charge of Alexander (on horseback at the left) 
against the Persian king in his chariot, at the battle of Issus. 

way, between the shore and the island. Powerful siege engines 
then breached the walls, the Macedonians poured in, and Tyre 
fell by storm. Thousands of its inhabitants perished and thou¬ 
sands more were sold into slavery. The great emporium of the 
East became a heap of ruins. 

From Tyre Alexander led his ever-victorious army through 
Syria into Egypt. The Persian forces here offered little resist¬ 
ance, and the Egyptians themselves welcomed Alexander 
Alexander as a deliverer. The conqueror entered taEgypt 
Memphis in triumph and then sailed down the Nile to its 
western mouth, where he laid the foundations of Alexandria, a 
city which later became the metropolis of the Orient. 


















































124 


Mingling of East and West 


Another march brought Alexander to the borders of Libya. 
Here he received the submission of Cyrene, the most important 
Alexander in Greek colony in Africa. 1 Alexander’s dominions 
Lihya were thus extended to the border of the Cartha¬ 

ginian possessions. It was at this time that Alexander visited 
a celebrated temple of the god Amon, located in an oasis of the 
Libyan desert. The priests were ready enough to hail him as a 
son of Amon, as one before whom his Egyptian subjects might 
bow down and adore. But after Alexander’s death his worship 
spread widely over the world, and even the Roman Senate gave 
him a place among the gods of Olympus. 

The time had now come to strike directly at the Persian 
king. Following the ancient trade routes through northern 
Battle of At- Mesopotamia, Alexander crossed the Euphrates 
beia, 331 B.c. an( j ^e Tigris and, on a broad plain not far from 
the ruins of ancient Nineveh, 2 found himself confronted by the 
Persian host. Darius held an excellent position and hoped to 
crush his foe by sheer weight of numbers. But nothing could 
stop the Macedonian onset; once more Darius fled away, and 
once more the Persians, deserted by their king, broke up in 
hopeless rout. 

The battle of Arbela decided the fate of the Persian Empire. 
It remained only to gather the fruits of victory. The city of 
End of the Babylon surrendered without a struggle. Susa, 
with its enormous treasure, fell into the conqueror’s 
hands. Persepolis, the old Persian capital, was 
given up to fire and sword. 3 Darius himself, as he retreated 
eastward, was murdered by his own men. With the death of 
Darius the national war of Greece against Persia came to an 
end. 

The Macedonians had now overrun all the Persian provinces 
except distant Iran and India. These countries were peopled 
Conquest of by warlike tribes of a very different stamp from 
Iran the effeminate Persians. Alexander might well 

have been content to leave them undisturbed, but the man 


Persian 

Empire 


1 See page go. 8 See page 36 . 

8 See John Dryden’s splendid ode, Alexander's Feast. 



EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 336-323 B. C. 

"1 Under Alexander 


Allied States 


Independent States 


, Route of Alexander 



Kingdom of the |-1 Kingdom of the 

Seleucids 1 - 1 Ptolemies 

__Route of Nearchus 


1 Macedonian 
J Kingdom 




































































































The Work of Alexander 


125 


could never rest while there were still conquests to be made. Long 
marches and much hard fighting were necessary to subdue the 
tribes about the Caspian and the inhabitants of the countries 
now known as Afghanistan and Turkestan. 

Crossing the lofty barrier of the Hindu-Kush, Alexander led 
his weary soldiers into northwestern India, where a single 
battle added the Persian province of the Punjab 1 Conquest 
to the Macedonian possessions. Alexander then of India 
pressed forward to the conquest of the Ganges valley, but 
in the full tide of victory his troops refused to go any farther. 
They had had their fill of war and martial glory; they would 
conquer no more lands for their ambitious king. Alexander 
gave with reluctance the order for the homeward march. 

Alexander was of too adventurous a disposition to return by 
the way he had come. He resolved to reach Babylon by a new 
route. He built a navy on the Indus and had it Alexander’s 
accompany the army down the river. At the 
mouth of the Indus Alexander dispatched the a y on 
fleet under his admiral, Nearchus, to explore the Indian Ocean 
and to discover, if possible, a sea route between India and the 
West. He himself led the army, by a long and toilsome march 
through the deserts of southern Iran, to Babylon. That city 
now became the capital of the Macedonian Empire. 

Scarcely two years after his return, while he was planning 
yet more extensive conquests in Arabia, Africa, and western 
Europe, he was smitten by the deadly Babylonian Death of 
fever. In 323 b.c., after several days of illness, Alexander, 
the conqueror of the world passed away, being 
not quite thirty-three years of age. 

43 . The Work of Alexander 

Alexander the Great was one of the foremost, perhaps the 
first, of the great captains of antiquity. But he Alexander as 
was more than a world-conqueror; he was a states- ™j^d 
man of the highest order. Had he been spared for 
an ordinary lifetime, there is no telling how much he might 
' See pages 20 and 39 . 


126 


Mingling of East and West 

have accomplished. In eleven years he had been able to subdue 
the East and to leave an impress upon it which was to endure 
for centuries. And yet his work had only begun. There were 
still lands to conquer, cities to build, untrodden regions to 
explore. Above all, it was still his task to shape his posses¬ 
sions into a well-knit, unified empire, which would not fall to 
pieces in the hands of his successors. His early death was 
a calamity, for it prevented the complete realization of his 
splendid ambitions. 

The immediate result of Alexander’s conquests was the dis¬ 
appearance of the barriers which had so long shut in the Orient. 
Hellenizing The East, until his day, was an almost unknown 
of the Orient \ an( p Now i a y 0 p en to the spread of Greek 
civilization. In the wake of the Macedonian armies followed 
Greek philosophers and scientists, Greek architects and artists, 
Greek colonists, merchants, and artisans. Everywhere into 
that huge, inert, unprogressive Oriental world came the active 
and enterprising men of Hellas. They brought their arts and 
culture and became the teachers of those whom they had called 
“ barbarians.” 

The ultimate result of Alexander’s conquests was the fusion 
of East and West. He realized that his new empire must con- 
Fusion of tain a pl ace f° r Oriental, as well as for Greek and 
East and Macedonian, subjects. It was Alexander’s aim, 
therefore, to build up a new state in which the 
distinction between the European and the Asiatic should grad¬ 
ually pass away. He welcomed Persian nobles to his court and 
placed them in positions of trust. He organized the govern¬ 
ment of his provinces on a system resembling that of Darius the 
Great. 1 He trained thousands of Persian soldiers to replace the 
worn-out veterans in his armies. He encouraged by liberal 
dowries mixed marriages between Macedonians and Orientals, 
and himself wedded the daughter of the last Persian king. To 
hold his dominions together and provide a meeting place for 
both classes of his subjects, he founded no less than seventy 
cities in different parts of the empire. Such measures as these 

* See pages 39 - 40 . 


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VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE 

Louvre, Paris 

Commemorates a naval battle fought in 306 b.c. The statue, which is considerably 
above life-size, stood on a pedestal having the form of a ship’s prow. The goddess of 
Victory was probably represented holding a trumpet to her lips with her right hand 
The fresh ocean breeze has blown her garments back into tumultuous folds. 




127 


Hellenistic Kingdoms and Cities 

show that Alexander had a mind of wide, even cosmopolitan, 
sympathies. They indicate the loss which ancient civilization 
suffered by his untimely end. 


44 . Hellenistic Kingdoms and Cities 

The half century following Alexander’s death is a confused 
and troubled period in ancient history. The king had left no 
legitimate son — no one with an undisputed title The three 
to the succession. On his deathbed Alexander had great king- 
himself declared that the realm should go “to the oms 
strongest.” 1 It was certain, under these circumstances, that 
his possessions would become the 
prey of the leading Macedonian gen¬ 
erals. The unwieldy empire at length 
broke in pieces. Out of the frag¬ 
ments arose three great states, 
namely, Macedonia, Egypt, and 
Syria. The kingdom of Egypt was 
ruled by Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s 
generals. Seleucus, another of his 
generals, established the kingdom of 
Syria. It comprised nearly all 
western Asia. These kingdoms re¬ 
mained independent until the era of 
Roman conquest in the East. 

Several small states also arose 
from the break-up of Alexander’s empire. 2 Each had its royal 
dynasty, its capital city, and its own national life. M i nor i n de- 
Thus the conquests of Alexander, instead of es- pendent 
tablishing a world-power under one ruler, led to 
the destruction of the unity of government which Persia had 
given to the East. 

More significant for the history of civilization than these 
kingdoms were the Hellenistic 3 cities, which from the time of 

i Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, vii, 26. 2 See the map facing page 124. 

3 The term “Hellenic” refers to purely Greek culture; the term “Hellenistic." 
to Greek culture as modified by contact with Oriental life and customs. 



A Greek Cameo 

Museum, Vienna 

Cut in sardonyx. Represents 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of 
Egypt, and his wife Arsinoe. 


128 


Mingling of East and West 


Alexandria 


Alexander arose in every part of the eastern world. Some 
City life in were only garrison towns in the heart of remote 
the Orient provinces or outposts along the frontiers. Many 
more, however, formed busy centers of trade and industry, and 
became, seats of Greek influence in the Orient. Such cities were 
quite unlike the old Greek city-states. 1 They were not free 
and independent, but made a part of the kingdom in which they 
were situated. The inhabitants consisted of Greeks and Mace¬ 
donians, comprising the governing class, together with native 
artisans and merchants who had abandoned their village homes 
for life in a metropolis. In appearance, also, these cities con¬ 
trasted with those of old Greece. They had broad streets, 
well paved and sometimes lighted at night, enjoyed a good 
water supply, and possessed baths, theaters, and parks. 

In the third century b.c. the foremost Hellenistic city was 
Alexandria. It lay on a strip of flat, sandy land separating 
Lake Mareotis from the Mediterranean. On the 
one side was the lake-harbor, connected with the 
Nile; on the other side were two sea-harbors, sheltered from 
the open sea by the long and narrow island of Pharos. 2 The 
city possessed a magnificent site for commerce. It occupied 
the most central position that could be found in the ancient 
world with respect to the three continents, Africa, Asia, and 
Europe. The prosperity which this port has enjoyed for more 
than two thousand years is ample evidence of the wisdom which 
led to its foundation. 

The chief city in the kingdom of Syria was splendid and 
luxurious Antioch. It lay in the narrow valley of the Orontes 
River, so close to both the Euphrates and the 
Mediterranean that it soon became an important 
commercial center. The city must have been a most delight¬ 
ful residence, with its fine climate, its location on a clear and 
rapid stream, and the near presence of the Syrian hills. In the 

1 See page 81. 

1 The lighthouse on the island of Pharos was considered one of the “seven won¬ 
ders” of the ancient world. The others were the hanging gardens and walls of 
Babylon, the pyramids, the Colossus of Rhodes, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, 
the mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the statue of Zeus at Olympia. 


Antioch 


Hellenistic Kingdoms and Cities 129 

sixth century a.d. repeated earthquakes laid Antioch in ruins. 
The city never recovered its prosperity, though a modern town, 
Antakia, still marks the site of the once famous capital. 

Asia Minor, during this period, contained many Hellenistic 
cities. One of the most important was Pergamum, the capital 
of a small but independent kingdom of the same Pergamum 
name. Its rulers earned the gratitude of all the 
Greeks by their resistance to the terrible Gauls. About fifty 



The Dying Gaul 

Capitoline Museum, Rome 

The statue represents a Gaul who in battle has fallen on his sword, to avoid 
a shameful captivity. Overcome by the faintness of death he sinks upon his 
shield, his head dropping heavily forward. Though realistic, the statue shows 
nothing violent or revolting. It is a tragedy in stone. 

years after Alexander’s death this barbarous people, pouring 
down from central Europe, had ravaged Greece and invaded 
Asia Minor. The kings of Pergamum celebrated their victories 
over the Gauls with so many works of architecture and sculp¬ 
ture that their city became the artistic rival of Athens. 

One other great Hellenistic center existed in the island city 
of Rhodes. Founded during the closing years of the Pelopon¬ 
nesian War, Rhodes soon distanced Athens in the Rho( j es 
race for commercial supremacy. The merchants of 
Rhodes framed admirable laws, especially for business affairs, 
and many of these were incorporated in the Roman code. 
Rhodes was celebrated for art. No less than three thousand 
statues adorned the streets and public buildings. It was also a 





130 Mingling of East and West 

favorite place of education for promising orators and writers. 
During Roman days many eminent men, Cicero and Julius 
Caesar among them, studied oratory at Rhodes. 

45 . The Hellenistic Age 

These splendid cities in the Orient were the centers of much 
literary activity. Their inhabitants, whether Hellenic or “bar- 
Hellenistic barian,” used Greek as a common language. During 
literature this period Greek literature took on a cosmo¬ 
politan character. It no longer centered in Athens. Writers 
found their audiences in all lands where Greeks had settled. 
At the same time literature became more and more an affair of 
the study. The authors were usually professional bookmen 
writing for a bookish public. They produced many works of 
literary criticism, prepared excellent grammars and diction¬ 
aries, but wrote very little poetry or prose of enduring value. 

The Hellenistic Age was distinguished as an age of learning. 
Particularly was this true at Alexandria, where the Museum, 
The Museum founded by the first Macedonian king of Egypt, 
at Alexandria became a real university. It contained galleries of 
art, an astronomical observatory, and even zoological and bo¬ 
tanical gardens. The Museum formed a resort for men of learn¬ 
ing, who had the leisure necessary for scholarly research. The 
beautiful gardens, with their shady walks, statues, and foun¬ 
tains, were the haunt of thousands of students whom the fame 
of Alexandria attracted from all parts of the civilized world. 

In addition to the Museum there was a splendid library, 
which at one time contained over five hundred thousand manu- 
The Alex- scripts—almost everything that had been written 
andrian in antiquity. The chief librarian ransacked pri¬ 
vate collections and purchased all the books he 
could find. Every book that entered Egypt was brought to the 
Library, where slaves transcribed the manuscript and gave a 
copy to the owner in place of the original. Before this time the 
manuscripts of celebrated works were often scarce and always 
in danger of being lost. Henceforth it was known where to look 
for them. 


The Hellenistic Age 131 

The Hellenistic Age was remarkable for the rapid advance of 
scientific knowledge. Most of the mathematical works of the 
Greeks date from this epoch. Euclid wrote a Scientific 
treatise on geometry which still holds its place in discoveries 
the schools. Archimedes of Syracuse, who had once studied at 
Alexandria, made many discoveries in engineering. A water 
screw of his device is still in use. He has the credit for finding 
out the laws of the lever. “Give me a fulcrum on which to 
rest,” he said, “and I will move the earth.” The Hellenistic 
scholars also made remarkable progress in medicine. The 
medical school of Alexandria was well equipped with charts, 
models, and dissecting rooms for the study of the human body. 
During the second century of our era all the medical knowledge 
of antiquity was gathered up in the writings of Galen (born 
about 130 a.d.). For more than a thousand years Galen of 
Pergamum remained the supreme authority in medicine. 

In scientific work it seems as if the Greeks had done almost 
all that could be accomplished by sheer brain power aided only 
by rude instruments. They had no real telescopes . . x 

J 1 Ancient and 

or microscopes, no mariner’s compass or chronom- modem 

eter, and no very delicate balances. Without 
such inventions the Greeks could hardly proceed 
much farther with their researches. Modern scientists are per¬ 
haps no better thinkers than were those of antiquity, but they 
have infinitely better apparatus and can make careful experi¬ 
ments where the Greeks had to rely on shrewd guesses. 

During the Hellenistic Age men began to gain more accurate 
ideas regarding the shape and size of the habitable globe. Such 
events as the expedition of the “Ten Thousand” 1 Exte nsionof 
and Alexander’s conquests in central Asia and India geographical 
brought new information about the countries and s 

peoples of the Orient. During Alexander’s lifetime a Greek 
named Pytheas, starting from Massilia, 2 made an adventurous 
voyage along the shores of Spain and Gaul and spent some time 
in Britain. He was probably the first Greek to visit that island. 

All this new knowledge of East and West was soon gathered 

1 See page 120. 2 See page 89. 



The World According to Ptolemy 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































The Graeco-Oriental World 


i 33 


together by Eratosthenes, the learned librarian of Alexandria. 
He was the founder of scientific geography. Before his time 

some students had already concluded that the „ . 

. . 1 . t _ Eratosthenes, 

earth is spherical and not flat, as had been taught about 276 - 

in the Homeric poems. Guesses had even been 194 B C> 
made of the size of the earth. Eratosthenes by careful measure¬ 
ments came within a few thousand miles of its actual circum¬ 
ference. Having estimated the size of the earth, Eratosthenes 
went on to determine how large was its habitable area. He 
reached the conclusion that the distance from the strait of 
Gibraltar to the east of India was about one-third of the earth’s 
circumference. The remaining two-thirds, he thought, was 
covered by the sea. And with what seems a prophecy he 
remarked that, if it was not for the vast extent of the Atlantic 
Ocean, one might almost sail from Spain to India along the 
same parallel of latitude. 

The next two centuries after Eratosthenes saw the spread of 
Roman rule over Greeks and Carthaginians in the Mediterra¬ 
nean and over the barbarous inhabitants of Gaul, 

Britain, and Germany. The new knowledge thus 1)10161117 
gained was summed up in the Greek Geography by Ptolemy of 
Alexandria. His famous map shows how near he came to the 
real outlines both of Europe and Asia. 

Ptolemy was likewise an eminent astronomer. He believed 
that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun, 
planets, and fixed stars all revolved around it. The ptole- 
This Ptolemaic system was not overthrown until the maic system 
grand discovery of Copernicus in the sixteenth century of our era. 

46 . The Graeco-Oriental World 

The Hellenistic Age was characterized by a general increase 
in wealth. The old Greeks and Macedonians, as a rule, had 
been content to live plainly. Now kings, nobles, The new 
and rich men began to build splendid palaces and luxury 
to fill them with the products of ancient art — marbles from 
Asia Minor, vases from Athens, and Italian bronzes. They had 
rich carpets and hangings, splendid armor and jewelry, and gold 


134 


Mingling of East and West 


and silver vessels for the table. The Greeks thus began to 
imitate the luxurious lives of Persian nobles. 

These new luxuries flowed in from all parts of the ancient 
world. Many came from the Far East in consequence of the 
The sea rediscovery of the sea route to India, by Alex- 

route to ander’s admiral, Nearchus . 1 The voyage of Near- 

chus was one of the most important results of 
Alexander’s eastern conquests. It established the fact, which 
had long been forgotten, that one could reach India by a water 
route much shorter and safer than the caravan roads through 
central Asia . 2 Somewhat later a Greek sailor, named Harpalus, 
found that by using the monsoons, the periodic winds which 
blow over the Indian Ocean, he could sail direct from Arabia to 
India without laboriously following the coast. The Greeks, in 
consequence, gave his name to the monsoons. 

All this sudden increase of wealth, all the thousand new en¬ 
joyments with which life was now adorned and enriched, did not 
Oriental in- work wholly for good. With luxury there went, 
as always, laxity in morals. Contact with the vice 
and effeminacy of the East tended to lessen the 
manly vigor of the Greeks, both in Asia and in Europe. Hellas 
became corrupt, and she in turn corrupted Rome. 

Yet the most interesting, as well as the most important, fea¬ 
ture of the age is the diffusion of Hellenic culture — the “Hel- 
Greek in- lenizing” of the Orient. It was, indeed, a changed 
fluence on the world in which men were now living. Greek cities, 
founded by Alexander and his successors, stretched 
from the Nile to the Indus, dotted the shores of the Black Sea 
and Caspian, and arose amid the wilds of central Asia. The 
Greek language, once the tongue of a petty people, grew to be 
a universal language of culture, spoken even by “barbarian” 
lips. And the art, the science, the literature, the principles of 
politics and philosophy, developed in isolation by the Greek 
mind,' henceforth became the heritage of many nations. 

Thus, in the period after Alexander the long struggle between 
East and West reached a peaceful conclusion. The distinction 

* See page 125. a See page 48. 


fluence on 
the Greeks 




ORIENTAL, GREEK, AND ROMAN COINS 


i. Lydian coin of about 700 b.c.; the material is electrum, a compound of gold and silver 
2. Gold dark, a Persian coin worth about $5. 3. Hebrew silver shekel. 4. Athenian silver 

tetradrackm, showing Athena, her olive branch, and sacred owl. 5. Roman bronze as (2 cents) 
of about 217 b.c.; the symbols are the head of Janus and the prow of a ship. 6. Bronze 
sestertius (5 cents), struck in Nero’s reign; the emperor, who carries a spear, is followed by a 
second horseman bearing a banner. 7. Silver denarius (20 cents), of about 99 b.c. ; it shows a 
bust of Roma and three citizens voting. 8. Gold solidus ($5), of Honorius, about 400 a.d.: 
the emperor wears a diadem and carries a scepter. 






ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL GEMS 

i. Steatite, from Crete; two lions with forefeet on a pedestal; above a sun. 2. Sar¬ 
donyx from Elis; a goddess holding up a goat by the horns. 3. Rock crystal; a bearded 
Triton. 4. Carnelian; a youth playing a trigonon. 5. Chalcedony from Athens; a Bac¬ 
chante. 6. Sard; a woman reading a manuscript roll; before her a lyre. 7. Carnelian; 
Theseus. 8. Chalcedony; portrait head; Hellenistic Age. 9. Aquamarine; portrait of 
Julia, daughter of the emperor Titus. 10. Chalcedony; portrait head; Hellenistic Age. 
11. Carnelian; bust portrait of the Roman emperor Decius. 12. Beryl; portrait of Julia 
Domna, wife of the emperor Septimius Severus. 13. Sapphire; head of the Madonna. 
14. Carnelian; the judgment of Paris; Renaissance work. 15. Rock crystal; Madonna 
with Jesus and St. Joseph; probably Norman-Sicilian work. 













The Graeco-Oriental World 135 

between Greek and Barbarian gradually faded away, and the 
ancient world became ever more unified in sym- The new cos- 
pathies and aspirations. It was this mingled civili- m opohtamsm 
zation of Orient and Occident with which the Romans were 
now to come in contact, as they pushed their conquering arms 
beyond Italy into the eastern Mediterranean. 

Studies 

1. On an outline map indicate the routes of Alexander, marking the principal 
battle fields and the most important cities founded by him. Note, also, the voyage 
of Nearchus. 2. On an outline map indicate the principal Hellenistic kingdoms 
about 200 b.c. 3. Give the proper dates for (a) accession of Alexander; ( b ) battle 
of Issus; (c) battle of Arbela; and (d) death of Alexander. 4. In what sense 
was Chseronea a decisive battle? 5. How is it true that the expedition of the Ten 
Thousand forms “an epilogue to the invasion of Xerxes and a prologue to the con¬ 
quests of Alexander”? 6. How much can you see and describe in the Alexander 
Mosaic (illustration, page 123)? 7 - Compare Alexander’s invasion, of Persia with 

the invasion of Greece by Xerxes. 8. Distinguish between the immediate and the 
ultimate results of Alexander’s conquests. 9. Comment on the following state¬ 
ment: “No single personality, excepting the carpenter’s son of Nazareth, has done 
so much to make the world we live in what it is as Alexander of Macedon. 
10. How did the Macedonian Empire compare in size with that of Persia? With 
that of Assyria? 11. What modem countries are included within the Macedonian 
Empire un der Alexander? 12. How did the founding of the Hellenistic cities con¬ 
tinue the earlier colonial expansion of Greece? 13. Why were the Hellenistic cities 
the real “backbone” of Hellenism? 14. Why do great cities rarely develop without 
the aid of commerce? Were all the great cities in Alexander’s empire of commercial 
importance? 15. Show how Alexandria has always been one of the meeting points 
between Orient and Occident. 16. How did the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 
A.D. affect the commercial importance of Alexandria? 17. Name some of the great 
scientists of the Alexandrian age. 18. What were their contributions to knowledge? 
19. Using the maps on pages 76 and 132, trace the growth of geographical knowl¬ 
edge from Homer’s time to that of Ptolemy. 20. What parts of the world are 
most correctly outlined on Ptolemy’s map? 21. “The seed-ground of European 
civilization is neither G-ece nor the Orient, but a world joined of the two.” 
Comment on this statement. 


CHAPTER VII 

THE RISE OF ROME TO 264 B.C. 1 


47 . Italy and Sicily 

The shape of Italy is determined by the course of the Apen¬ 
nines. Branching off from the Alps at the gulf of Genoa, these 
The Apen- mountains cross the peninsula in an easterly direc- 
nines tion, almost to the Adriatic. Here they turn 

sharply to the southeast and follow the coast for a considerable 
distance. The plains of central Italy, in consequence, are all on 
the western slope of the Apennines. In the lower part of the 
peninsula the range swerves suddenly to the southwest, so that 
the level land is there on the eastern side of the mountains. 
Near the southern extremity of Italy the Apennines separate 
into two branches, which penetrate the “heel and toe” of the 
peninsula. 

Italy may be conveniently divided into a northern, a central, 
and a southern section. These divisions, however, are deter- 
Divisions of mined by the direction of the mountains and not, 
Italy as in Greece, chiefly by inlets of the sea. Northern 

Italy contains the important region known in ancient times as 
Cisalpine Gaul. This is a perfectly level plain two hundred 
miles in length, watered by the Po (. Padus ), which the Romans 
called the “king of rivers,” because of its length and many 
tributary streams. Central Italy, lying south of the Apennines,, 
includes seven districts, of which the three on the western 
coast — Etruria, Latium, and Campania — were most conspic¬ 
uous in ancient history. Southern Italy, because of its warm 
climate and deeply indented coast, early attracted many Greek 
colonists. Their colonies here came to be known as Magna 
Grascia, or Great Greece. 

1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter xiv, “Legends of Early Rome.” 

136 

















































































































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i37 


The Peoples of Italy 

The triangular-shaped island of Sicily is separated from Italy 
by the strait of Messina, a channel which, at the narrowest 
part, is only two miles wide. At one time Sicily 
must have been joined to the mainland. Its 
mountains, which rise at their highest point in the majestic 
volcano of iEtna, nearly eleven thousand feet above sea level, 
are a continuation of those of Italy. The greater part of Sicily 
is remarkably productive, containing rich grainfields and hill¬ 
sides green with the olive and the vine. Lying in the center 
of the Mediterranean and in the direct route of merchants 
and colonists from every direction, Sicily has always been 
a meeting place of nations. In antiquity Greeks, Cartha¬ 
ginians, and Romans contended for the possession of this 
beautiful island. 

On Italian history, as on that of Greece, 1 we are able to trace 
the profound influence of geographical conditions. In the first 
place, the peninsula of Italy is not cut up by a In fl uence 0 f 
tangle of mountains into many small districts, geographical 
Hence it was easier for the Italians, than for the condltlons 
Greeks, to establish one large and united state. In the second 
place, Italy, which has few good harbors but possesses fine 
mountain pastures and rich lowland plains, was better adapted 
to cattle raising and agriculture than was Greece. The Italian 
peoples, in consequence, instead of putting to sea, remained a 
conservative, home-staying folk, who were slow to adopt the 
customs of other nations. Finally, the location of Italy, with 
its best harbors and most numerous islands on the western 
coast, brought that country unto closer touch with Gaul, Spain, 
and northwestern Africa than with Greece and the Orient. 
Italy fronted the barbarous West. 

48 . The Peoples of Italy 

Long before the Romans built their city by the Tiber every 
part of Italy had become the home of wander- Neighbors of 
ing peoples, attracted by the mild climate and rich the Romans 
soil of this favored land. Two of these peoples were neighbors 

i See page 67. 


138 


The Rise of Rome 


of the Romans — Etruscans on the north and Greeks on the 
south. 

The ancestors of the historic Etruscans were probably ^Egean 
sea-rovers who settled in the Italian peninsula before the begin- 
The Etrus- ning of the eighth century b.c. The immigrants 
cans mingled with the natives and by conquest and 

colonization founded a strong power in the country to which 

they gave their name 
— Etruria. At one 
time the Etruscans 
appear to have ruled 
over Campania and 
also in the Po Valley 
as far as the Alps. 
Their colonies occu¬ 
pied the shores of 
Sardinia and Corsica. 
Their fleets swept 
the Tyrrhenian Sea. 
The Etruscans for 
several centuries 
were the leading na¬ 
tion in Italy. 

These Etruscans, 
like the Hittites of 
Asia Minor, 1 are a 
mysterious race. No 
one as yet has been able to read their language, which is quite 
Etruscan civil- unlike any Indo-European tongue. The words, 
ization however, are written in an alphabet borrowed from 

Greek settlers in Italy. Many other civilizing arts besides the 
alphabet came to the Etruscans from abroad. Babylonia gave 
to them the principle of the round arch and the practice of 
divination. 2 Etruscan graves contain Egyptian seals adorned 
with hieroglyphics and beautiful vases bearing designs from 
Greek mythology. The Etruscans were skillful workers in iron, 

1 See page 28. 2 See pages 53, 61. 



A Graeco-Etruscan Chariot 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New'York 

The chariot was discovered in 1903 a.d., in an Etruscan 
cemetery near Rome. It dates from perhaps 600 b.c. 
Almost every part of the vehicle is covered with thin plates 
of bronze, elaborately decorated. The wheels are only two 
feet in diameter. Since the chariot is too small and delicate 
for use in warfare, we may believe it to have been in¬ 
tended for ceremonial purposes only. 


139 


The Peoples of Italy 


The Greeks 


bronze, and gold. They built their cities with massive walls, 
arched gates, paved streets, and underground drains. In the 
course of time a great part of this Etruscan civilization was 
absorbed in that of Rome. 

As teachers of the Romans the Etruscans were followed by 
the Greeks. About the middle of the eighth century b.c. 
Hellenic 
colonies 

began to occupy the 
coasts of Sicily and 
southern Italy. The 
earliest Greek settle- 
ment was Cumae, 
near the bay of Na¬ 
ples. 1 It was a city 
as old as Rome itself, 
and a center from 
which Greek culture, 
including the Greek 
alphabet, spread to 
Latium. A glance at 
the map 2 shows that 
the chief Greek colo¬ 
nies were all on or 
near the sea, from 
Campania to the gulf 
ofTarentum. North 
of the “heel” of Italy extends an almost harborless coast, where 
nothing tempted the Greeks to settle. North of Campania, 
again, they found the good harbors already occupied by the 
Etruscans. The Greeks, in consequence, were never able to 
make Italy a completely Hellenic land. Room was left for the 
native Italian peoples, under the leadership of Rome, to build 
up their own power in the peninsula. 

The Italians were an Indo-European people who spoke a 

i Naples, the ancient Neapolis, was a colony of Cumae. See page 89. 

* See the map facing page 48. 



An Etruscan Arch 

The Italian city of Volterra still preserves in the Porta 
dell’ Arco an interesting relic of Etruscan times. The arch¬ 
way, one of the original gates of the ancient town, is about 
twenty feet in height and twelve feet in width. On the 
keystone and imposts are three curious heads, probably rep¬ 
resenting the guardian deities of the place. 


140 


The Rise of Rome 


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language closely related, on the one side, to Greek and, on the 
The Italian other side, to the Celtic tongues of western Europe, 
highlanders They entered Italy through the Alpine passes, long 
before the dawn of history, and gradually pushed southward 

until they occupied the interior 
of the peninsula. At the be¬ 
ginning of historic times they 
had separated into two main 
branches. The eastern and 
central parts of Italy formed 
the home of the highlanders, 
grouped in various tribes. 
Among them were the Um¬ 
brians in the northeast, the 
Sabines in the upper valley 
of the Tiber, and the Samnites 
in the south. Still other Ital¬ 
ian peoples occupied the penin¬ 
sula as far as Magna Graecia. 

The western Italians were known as Latins. They dwelt in 
Latium, the “flat land” extending south of the Tiber between 
the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Residence 
in the lowlands, where they bordered on the Etrus¬ 
cans, helped to make the Latins a civilized people. Their 
village communities grew into larger settlements, until the 
whole of Latium became filled with a number of independent 
city-states. The ties of kinship and the necessity of defense 
against Etruscan and Sabine foes bound them together. At a 
very early period they had united in the Latin League, under 
the headship of Alba Longa. Another city in this league was 
Rome. 

49. The Romans 


Characters op t he Etruscan 
Alphabet 

About eight thousand Etruscan inscriptions 
are known, almost all being short epitaphs on 
gravestones. In 1892 a.d. an Etruscan manu¬ 
script, which had been used to pack an Egyp¬ 
tian mummy, was published, but the language 
could not be deciphered. 


The Latins 


Rome sprang from a settlement of Latin shepherds, farmers, 
and traders on the Palatine Mount. 1 This was the central 
eminence in a group of low hills south of the Tiber, about fifteen 

1 The Romans believed that their city was founded in 753 b.c., from which year 
all Roman dates were reckoned. 


The Romans 


141 

miles by water from the river’s mouth. Opposite the Palatine 
community there arose on the Quirinal Hill another Founding of 
settlement, which seems to have been an outpost Rome 
of the Sabines. After much hard fighting the rival hill towns 



The Vicinity of Rome 


united on equal terms into one state. The low marshy land 
between the Palatine and Quirinal became the Forum, or com¬ 
mon market place, and the steep rock, known as the Capitoline, 
formed the common citadel . 1 

The union of the Palatine and Quirinal settlements greatly in¬ 
creased the area and population of the Roman city. In course 
of time settlements were made on the neighboring union of the 
hills and these, too, cast in their lot with Rome. seven ms 
Then a fortification, the so-called “ Wall of Servius,” was built 
to bring them all within the boundaries of the enlarged com- 
1 See the map, page 293. 







142 


The Rise of Rome 


munity. Rome came into existence as the City of the Seven 
Hills. 

Long after the foundation of Rome, when that city had grown 
rich and powerful, her poets and historians delighted to relate 
Myths of the many myths which clustered about the earlier 

early Rome stages of her career. According to these myths 
Rome began as a colony of Alba Longa, the capital of Latium. 
The founder of this city was Ascanius, son of the Trojan prince 
vLneas, who had escaped from Troy on its capture by the 
Greeks and after long wanderings had reached the coast of 
Italy. Many generations afterwards, when Numitor sat on the 
throne of Alba Longa, his younger brother, Amulius, plotted 
against him and drove him into exile. He had Numitor’s son 
put to death, and forced the daughter, Rhea Silvia, to take the 
vows of a Vestal Virgin. 1 

But Rhea Silvia, beloved by Mars, the god of war, gave birth 
to twin boys of more than human size and 
Romulus and beauty. The wicked Amulius 
Remus ordered the children to be set 

adrift in a basket on the Tiber. Heaven, 
however, guarded these offspring of a god; the 
river cast them ashore near Mount Palatine, 
and a she-wolf came and nursed them. There 
they were discovered by a shepherd, who reared 
them in his own household. When the twins, 
Romulus and Remus, reached manhood, they 
killed Amulius and restored their grandfather 
to his kingdom. With other young men from 
Alba Longa, they then set forth to build a new city on the 
Palatine, where they had been rescued. As they scanned the 
sky to learn the will of the gods, six vultures, birds of Jupiter, 
appeared to Remus; but twelve were seen by Romulus. So 
Romulus marked out the boundary of the city on the Palatine, 
and Remus, who in derision leaped over the half-finished wall, 
he slew in anger. Romulus thus became the sole founder of 
Rome and its first king. 



An Early Roman 
Coin 

Shows the twins, 
Romulus and Remus, 
as infants suckled by 
a wolf. 


1 See page 146. 




143 


Early Roman Society 

Romulus was followed by a Sabine, Numa Pompilius, who 
taught the Romans the arts of peace and the worship of the 
gods. Another king destroyed Alba Longa and Successors of 
brought the inhabitants to Rome. The last of Romulus 
Rome’s seven kings was an Etruscan named Tarquin the Proud. 
His tyranny finally provoked an uprising, and Rome became a 
republic. 

These famous tales have become a part of the world’s litera¬ 
ture and still possess value to the student. They show us what 
the Romans themselves believed about the foun- significance 
dation and early fortunes of their city. Sometimes of the myths 
they refer to what seem to be facts, such as the first settlement 
on the Palatine, the union with the Sabines on the Quirinal, 
the conquest of Alba Longa, and Etruscan rule at Rome. The 
myths also contain so many references to customs and beliefs 
that they are a great help in understanding the social life and 
religion of the early Romans. 

50 . Early Roman Society 

Agriculture was the chief occupation of the Roman people. 
“When our forefathers,” said an ancient writer, “would praise 
a worthy man, they praised him as a good farmer The Romans 
and a good landlord; and they believed that an agricui- 
praise could go no further.” 1 Roman farmers tural people 
raised large crops of grain — the staple product of ancient 
Italy. Cattle-breeding, also, must have been an important 
pursuit, since in early times prices were estimated in oxen and 
sheep. 2 

In such a community of peasants no great inequalities of 
wealth existed. Few citizens were very rich; few were very 
poor. The members of each household made their Economic 
own clothing from flax or wool, and fashioned out conditions 
of wood and clay what utensils were needed for their simple fife. 
For a long time the Romans had no coined money whatever. 
When copper came into use as currency, it passed from hand to 
hand in shapeless lumps that required frequent weighing. It 

i Cato, De agricultura , i. 1 See page 6. 


144 


The Rise of Rome 



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OIESMORWU! 
NOX HOXXViJ 
SOL 
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TVTELA 
IVMONIS 
PALVS 
ApVITVR 
SALIX 
HARVNDO 
MDITVR 
SAC Rl FI CAN 
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PENATIBVS 


MENSIS 

PEBRAR 
OIES-XXVMI 
NONQVINT 
OIES-HOR-XS 
NOXHOR-XII* 
SOLA9VARIO 
TVTEL'NEPTVNI 
SEGETES 
SARI VNTVR 
VINEARVM 
SVPERF 1 C-C 0 UT 
HARVNOIRES 
IRC ENOVNT 
PARENTAUA 
UVPERCALlA 
CARA-COGNATO 
TERMINAL^ 


MENSIS 

MARTIVS 

DIES-XXXI 

NONSEPTIMAN 
DIES -.HOR-XI 1 
NOX- MOR-XII 
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VIII KAL-APR 
SOL-PlSABVS 

tvtel-minerv/e 

RIC/EPEDAMIN 

INPAST1NO 

PVTANTVR 

tRiwnR-SCRmip 

insioisnavignni 

Sacrmamvris 

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TRIALAVATtO 


N° t* 
oV.«' ! 

cv f* 

vU'Z 

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Moral char¬ 
acter of the 
early Romans 



was not until the fourth century that a regular coinage began . 1 
This use of copper as money indicates that gold and silver were 
rare among the Romans, and luxury almost unknown. 

Hard-working, god-fearing peasants are likely to lead clean 

and sober lives. This was cer¬ 
tainly true of the 
early Romans. 
They were a manly 
breed, abstemious in food and 
drink, iron-willed, vigorous, and 
strong. Deep down in the Ro¬ 
man’s heart was the proud con¬ 
viction that Rome should rule 
over all her neighbors. For this 
he freely shed his blood; for 
this he bore hardship, however 
severe, without complaint. Be¬ 
fore everything else, he was a 
dutiful citizen and a true pa¬ 
triot. Such were the sturdy men 
who on their farms in Latium 
formed the backbone of the Ro¬ 
man state. Their character has 
set its mark on history for all 
time. 

The family formed the unit 
of Roman society. Its most 
The Roman marked feature 
family was un li m ited 

authority of the father. In his 
house he reigned an absolute king. His wife had no legal rights: 
he could sell her into slavery or divorce her at will. Neverthe¬ 
less, no ancient people honored women more highly than the 
Romans. A Roman wife was the mistress of the home, as her 
husband was its master. Though her education was not car¬ 
ried far, we often find the Roman matron taking a lively inter- 

1 See the illustration, page 7. 


A Roman Farmer’s Calendar 

A marble cube, two feet high, of about 
31-29 B.C. 

The month of May, 

XXXI days. 

The nones fall on the 7 th day. 

The day has 145 hours. 

The night has g§ hours. 

The sun is in the sign of Taurus. 

The month is under the protection of Apollo. 
The corn is weeded. 

The sheep are shorn. 

The wool is washed. 

Young steers are put under the yoke. 

The vetch of the meadows is cut. 

The lustration of the crops is made. 
Sacrifices to Mercury and Flora. 

















Vatican Museum, Rome 
Portrait sculpture from a tombstone 
























% 





♦ 




•» 






















































Roman Religion 145 

est in affairs of state, and aiding her husband both in politics 
and business. It was the women, as well as the men, who 
helped to make Rome great among the nations. Over his un¬ 
married daugh¬ 
ters and his sons, 
the Roman father 
ruled as supreme 
as over his wife. 

He brought up his 
children to be so¬ 
ber, silent, modest 
in their bearing, 
and, above all, 
obedient. Their 
misdeeds he might 
punish with pen¬ 
alties as severe as 
banishment, slavery, or death. As head of the family he could 
claim all their earnings; everything they had was his. The 
father’s great authority ceased only with his death. Then his 
sons, in turn, became lords over their families. 

51 . Roman Religion 

The Romans, like the ancient Greeks and the modern Chi¬ 
nese, paid special veneration to the souls of the dead. These 
were known by the flattering name of manes , the Worship of 
“pure” or “good ones.” The Romans always ancestors 
regarded the manes as members of the household to which they 
had belonged on earth. The living and the dead were thus 
bound together by the closest ties. The idea of the family 
triumphed even over the grave. 

The ancient Roman house had only one large room, the 
atrium , where all members of the family lived together. It was 
entered by a single door, which was sacred to the The house- 
god Janus. On the hearth, opposite the doorway, hold deities 
the housewife prepared the meals. The fire that ever blazed 
upon it gave warmth and nourishment to the inmates. Here 



Vatican Museum, Rome 

These receptacles for the ashes of the dead were found in 
an old cemetery at Alba Longa. They show two forms of the 
primitive Roman hut. 



The Rise of Rome 


146 


dwelt Vesta, the spirit of the kindling flame. The cupboard 
where the food was kept came under the charge of the Penates, 
who blessed the family store. The house as a whole had its 
protecting spirits, called Lares. 

The daily worship of these deities took place at the family 
meal. The table would be placed at 

Worship of the side of the hearth > 
the house- and when the father 
hold deities and his family sat 

down to it, a little food would be 
thrown into the flames and a por¬ 
tion of wine poured out, as an offer¬ 
ing to the gods. The images of the 
Lares and Penates would also be 
fetched from the shrine and placed 
on the table in token of their pres¬ 
ence at the meal. This religion of 
the family lasted with little change 
throughout the entire period of Ro¬ 
man history. 

The early Roman state was only 
an enlarged family, and hence the 
Janus and religion of the state 

Vesta was m0( j e ied after that 

of the .family. Some of the divini¬ 
ties, such as Janus and Vesta, were taken over with little change 
from the domestic worship. The entrance to the Forum formed 
a shrine of Janus, 1 which Numa himself was said to have built. 
The door, or gateway, stood open in time of war, but shut when 
Rome was at peace. At the south end of the Forum stood the 
round temple of Vesta, containing the sacred hearth of the city. 
Here Vesta was served by six virgins of free birth, whose duty 
it was to keep the fire always blazing on the altar. If by acci¬ 
dent the fire went out, it must be relighted from a “pure flame ,” 



A Vestal Virgin 

Portrait from a statue discovered in 
the ruins of the temple of Vesta in the 
Roman Forum. 


1 Since a door ( janua ) had two sides, Janus, the door god, was represented with 
the curious double face which appears on Roman coins. (See the plate facing 
page 134.) The month of January in the Julian calendar was named for him. 




Roman Religion 147 

either by striking a spark with flint or by rubbing together two 
dry sticks. Such methods of kindling fire were those familiar 
to the prehistoric Romans. 

The Romans worshiped various gods connected with their 
lives as shepherds, farmers, and warriors. The chief divinity 
was Jupiter, who ruled the heavens and sent rain Jupiter and 
and sunshine to nourish the crops. The war god Mars 
Mars reflected the military character of the Romans. His 



Su O VET AURILIA , 
Louvre, Paris 


The relief pictures an ancient Italian sacrifice of a bull, a ram, and a boar, offered to Mars 
to secure purification from sin. Note the sacred laurel trees, the two altars, and the officiat¬ 
ing magistrate, whose head is covered with the toga. He is sprinkling incense from a box 
held by an attendant. Another attendant carries a ewer with the libation. In the rear is the 
sacrificer with his ax. 

sacred animal was the fierce, cruel wolf; his symbols were 
spears and shields; his altar was the Campus Martius (Field of 
Mars) outside the city walls, where the army assembled in 
battle array. March, the first month of the old Roman year, 
was named in his honor. Some other gods were borrowed from 
the Greeks, together with many of the beautiful Greek myths. 

The Romans took many precautions, before beginning any 
enterprise, to find out what was the will of the gods and how 
their favor might first be gained. They did not Divination 
have oracles, but they paid much attention to 
omens of all sorts. A sudden flash of lightning, an eclipse of 
the sun, a blazing comet, or an earthquake shock was an omen 















148 


The Rise of Rome 


which awakened superstitious fear. It indicated the disap¬ 
proval of the gods. From the Etruscans the Romans learned 
to divine the future by examining the entrails of animal victims. 
They also borrowed from their northern neighbors the practice 

of looking for signs in the num- 


... « 

nim( 

mm iiimiiiii^ 





ber, flight, and action of birds. 
To consult such signs was called 
“taking the auspices.” 1 
Roman priests, who con¬ 
ducted the state religion, did 

^. not form a sepa- 
Priesthoods . 

rate class, as m 

some Oriental countries. They 
were chosen, like other magis¬ 
trates, from the general body of 
citizens. A board, or “college,” 
of six priests had charge of the 
public auspices. Another 
board, that of the pontiffs, regu¬ 
lated the calendar, kept the 
public annals, and regulated 
weights and measures. They were experts in all matters of 
religious ceremonial and hence were very important officials. 2 

This old Roman faith was something very different from 
what we understand by religion. It had little direct influence 
Importance on morality. It did not promise rewards or 
threaten punishments in a future world. Roman 
religion busied itself with the everyday life of man. 
Just as the household was bound together by the tie of common 
worship, so all the citizens were united in a common reverence 
for the deities which guarded the state. The religion of Rome 
made and held together a nation. 


An Etruscan Augur 

Wall painting from a tomb at Tarquinii in 
Etruria. 


of the state 
religion 


1 Latin auspicium, from auspex, a bird seer. 

2 The title of the president of the pontiffs, Pontifex Maximus (Supreme Pontiff), 
is still that of the pope. 






The Roman City-State 


149 


52 . The Roman City-State 

We find* in early Rome, as in Homeric Greece, 1 a city-state 
with its king, council, and assembly. The king was the father 
of his people, having over them the same absolute Early Roman 
authority that the house-father held within the government 
family. The king was assisted by a council of elders, or Sen¬ 
ate (Latin senes , “old men”). Its 
members were chosen by the king 
and held office for life. The most 
influential heads of families be¬ 
longed to the Senate. The com¬ 
mon people at first took little part 
in the government, for it was only 
on rare occasions that the king 
summoned them to deliberate with 
him in an assembly. 

Toward the close of the sixth cen¬ 
tury, as we have already learned, 2 
the ancient monarchy Therepubli- 
disappeared from can consuls 

Rome. In place of the lifelong 
king two magistrates, named con¬ 
suls, were elected every year. Each 
consul had to share his honor and 
authority with a colleague who enjoyed the same power as him¬ 
self. Unless both agreed, there could be no action. Like the 
Spartan kings, 3 the consuls served as checks, the one on the 
other. Neither could safely use his position to aim at unlaw¬ 
ful rule. 

This divided power of the consuls might work very well in 
times of peace. During dangerous wars or insurrections it was 
likely to prove disastrous. A remedy was found The dictator 
in the temporary revival of the old kingship under 
a new name. When occasion required, one of the consuls, on 
the advice of the Senate, appointed a dictator. The consuls 

1 See page 81. * See page 143 * See page 83. 



The relief represents the chickens in 
the act of feeding. The most favorable 
omen was secured when the fowls 
greedily picked up more of the corn 
than they could swallow at one time. 
Their refusal to eat at all was an 
omen of disaster. 
































The Rise of Rome 


150 


then gave up their authority and the people put their property and 
lives entirely at the dictator’s disposal. During his term of office, 
which could not exceed six months, the state was under martial 
law. Throughout Roman history there were many occasions 
when a dictatorship was created to meet a sudden emergency. 

The Roman state, during the regal age, seems to have been 
divided between an aristocracy and a commons. The nobles 
Patricians were called patricians, 1 and the common people 
and plebeians were k nown as plebeians. 2 The patricians occu¬ 
pied a privileged position, since they alone sat in the Senate 
and served as priests, judges, and magistrates. In fact, 
they controlled society, and the common people found them¬ 
selves excluded from much of the religious, legal, and political 
life of the Roman city. Under these circumstances it was 
natural for the plebeians to agitate against the patrician mo¬ 
nopoly of government. The struggle between the two orders 
of society lasted about two centuries. 

A few years after the establishment of the republic the 
plebeians compelled the patricians to allow them to have officers 
.. of their own, called tribunes, as a means of pro- 
tection. There were ten tribunes, elected annually 
by the plebeians. Any tribune could veto, that is, forbid, the 
act of a magistrate which seemed to bear harshly on a citizen. 
To make sure that a tribune’s orders would be respected, his 
person was made sacred and a solemn curse was pronounced 
upon the man who injured him or interrupted him in the per¬ 
formance of his duties. The tribune’s authority, however, 
extended only within the city and a mile beyond its walls. He 
was quite powerless against the consul in the field. 

We next find the plebeians struggling for equality before the 
law. Just as in ancient Athens, 3 the early Ro¬ 
man laws had never been written down or pub¬ 
lished. About half a century after the plebeians 
had obtained the tribunes, they forced the patricians to give 
them written laws. A board of ten men, known as decemvirs, 


The Twelve 
Tables, 449 
B.C. 


1 From the Latin patres, “fathers.” 
8 Latin plebs, “the crowd.” 


* See page 85. 


The Roman City-State 151 

was appointed to frame a legal code, binding equally on both 
patricians and plebeians. The story goes that this commission 
studied the legislation of the Greek states of southern Italy, and 
even went to Athens to examine some of Solon’s laws which 
were still in force. The laws framed by the decemvirs were 
engraved on twelve bronze tablets and set 
up in the Forum. A few sentences from 
this famous code have come down to us in 
rude, unpolished Latin. They mark the be¬ 
ginning of what was to be Rome’s greatest 
gift to civilization — her legal system. 

The hardest task of the plebeians was to 
secure the right of holding the great offices 
of state. Eventually, how- Final triumph 
ever, they gained entrance to of the ple- 
the Senate and became eligible e 
to the consulship and other magistracies 
and to the priesthoods. By the middle of 
the third century the plebeians and patri¬ 
cians, equal before the law and with equal 
privileges, formed one compact body of citi¬ 
zens in the Roman state. 

The Roman state called itself a republic — respublica— “a 
thing of the people.” Roman citizens made the laws and 
elected public officers. Though the people in their Rome as a 
gatherings had now become supreme, their power republic 
was really much limited by the fact that very little discussion 
of a proposed measure was allowed. This formed a striking 
contrast to the vigorous debating which went on in the Athe¬ 
nian Assembly. 1 Roman citizens could not frame, criticize, or 
amend public measures; they could only vote “yes” or “no 5 
to proposals made to them by a magistrate. 

Rome had many magistrates. Besides the two consuls and 
an occasional dictator there were the ten tribunes, Magistrates 
the praetors, who served as judges, and the quaes¬ 
tors, or keepers of the treasury. The two censors were also very 

1 See page 105. 



Curule Chair and 
Fasces 


A consul sat on the 
curule chair. The fasces 
(axes in a bundle of rods) 
symbolized his power to 
flog and behead offenders. 














152 


The Rise of Rome 


important officers. It was their business to make an enumera¬ 
tion or census of the citizens and to assess property for taxation. 
The censors almost always were reverend seniors who had 
held the consulship and enjoyed a reputation for justice and 
wisdom. Their office grew steadily in importance, especially 
after the censors began to exercise an oversight of the private 
life of the Romans. They could expel a senator from his seat 
for immorality and could deprive any citizen of his vote. The 
word “censorious,” meaning faultfinding, is derived from the 
name of these ancient officials. 

The authority of the magistrates was much limited by the 
Senate. This body contained about three hundred members, 
Membership who held their seats generally for life. When 
of the Senate vacancies occurred, they were filled, as a rule, by 
those who had previously held one or more of the higher magis¬ 
tracies. There sat in the Senate every man who, as statesman, 
general, or diplomatist, had served his country well. 

The Senate furnished an admirable school for debate. Any 
senator could speak as long and as often as he chose. The 
Powers exer- opportunities for discussion were numerous, for 
cised by the all weighty matters came before this august assem¬ 
blage. It managed finances and public works. 
It looked after the state religion. It declared and conducted 
war, received ambassadors from foreign countries, made affi¬ 
ances, and administered conquered territories. The Senate 
formed the real governing body of the republic. 

The Senate proved not unworthy of its high position. For two 
centuries, while Rome was winning dominion over Italy and the 
“Anassem- Mediterranean, that body held the wisest and 
biy of noblest Romans of the time. To these men office 

meant a public trust—an opportunity to serve their country with 
distinction and honor. The Senate, in its best days, was a splen¬ 
did example of the foresight, energy, and wisdom of republican 
Rome. An admiring foreigner called it “an assembly of kings.” 1 

1 The four letters inscribed on Roman military standards indicate the impor¬ 
tant place held by the Senate. They are 5. P. Q. R., standing for Senatus Popu- 
lusque Romanus, “The Senate and the People of Rome.” 


Expansion of Rome over Italy 153 

53. Expansion of Rome over Italy, 509 (?)-264 B.C. 

The first centuries of the republic were filled with constant 
warfare. The Romans needed all their skill, bravery, and pa¬ 
triotism to keep back the Etruscans on the north 
and the wild tribes of the Apennines. About 390 supreme 
b.c. the state was brought near to destruction by m Latium > 
an invasion of the Gauls. 1 These barbarians, whose 
huge bulk and enormous weapons struck terror to the hearts of 
their adversaries, poured through the Alpine passes and ravaged 
far and wide. At the river Allia, only a few miles from Rome, 
they annihilated a Roman army and then captured and burned 
the city itself. But the Gallic tide receded as swiftly as it had 
come, and Rome rose from her ashes mightier than ever. Half 
a century after the Gallic invasion she was able to subdue her 
former allies, the Latins, and to destroy their league. The 
Latin War, as it is called, ended in 338 b.c., the year of the fate¬ 
ful battle of Chseronea in Greece. 2 By this time Rome ruled in 
Latium and southern Etruria and had begun to extend her sway 
over Campania. There remained only one Italian people to con¬ 
test with her the supremacy of the peninsula — the Samnites. 

The Samnites were the most vigorous and warlike race of cen¬ 
tral Italy. While the Romans were winning their way in Latium, 
the Samnites were also entering on a career of con- Rome 
quest. They coveted the fertile Campanian plain supreme in 
with its luxurious cities, Cumae and Neapolis, which ^^ al c Italy » 
the Greeks had founded. The Romans had also 
fixed their eyes on the same region, and so a contest between 
the two peoples became inevitable. In numbers, courage, and 
military skill Romans and Samnites were well matched. Nearly 
half a century of hard fighting was required before Rome gained 
the upper hand. The close of the Samnite wars found Rome 
supreme in central Italy. Her authority was now recognized 
from the upper Apennines to the foot of the peninsula. 

The wealthy cities of southern Italy offered a tempting prize 
to Roman greed. Before long many of them received Roman 

1 See page 129. 2 See page 118. 


The Rise of Rome 


154 

garrisons and accepted the rule of the great Latin republic, 
Rome supreme Tarentum, 1 however, the most important of the 
in southern Greek colonies, held jealously to her independence. 
Italy, 264 B.c. Enable single-handed to face the Romans, Taren¬ 
tum turned to Greece for aid. She called on Pyrrhus, king of 
Epirus, the finest soldier of his age. Pyrrhus led twenty-five 
thousand mercenary soldiers into Italy, an army almost as 
large as Alexander’s. The Romans could not break the bristling 
ranks of the Greek phalanx, and they shrank back in terror before 
the huge war elephants which Pyrrhus had brought with him. 
The invader won the first battle, but lost many of his best troops. 
He then offered peace on condition that the Romans should give 
up their possessions in southern Italy. The Senate returned the 
proud reply that Rome would not treat with the enemy while he 
stood on Italian soil. A second battle was so bitterly contested 
that Pyrrhus declared, “Another such victory, and I am lost.” 2 
Weary of the struggle, Pyrrhus now crossed over to Sicily to aid 
his countrymen against the Carthaginians. The rapid progress 
of the Roman arms called him back, only to meet a severe 
defeat. Pyrrhus then withdrew in disgust to Greece; Tarentum 
fell; and Rome established her rule over southern Italy. 

The triumph over Pyrrhus and the conquest of Magna 
Graecia mark a decisive moment in the history of Rome. Had 
Political situ- Py rr h us won, Italy, as well as Asia and Egypt, 
ation in 264 might have become a Greek land, ruled by Hellen¬ 
istic kings. Now it was clear that Rome, having 
met the invader so bravely, was to remain supreme in the 
Italian peninsula. She was the undisputed mistress of Italy 
from the strait of Messina northward to the Arnus and the 
Rubicon. Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, and Greeks acknowl¬ 
edged her sway. The central city of the peninsula had be¬ 
come the center of a united Italy. 3 

1 See page 89. 2 Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 21. 

3 It should be noticed, however, that as yet Rome controlled only the central 
and southern parts of what is the modern kingdom of Italy. Two large divisions of 
that kingdom, which every Italian now regards as essential to its unity, were in 
other hands — the Po valley and the island of Sicily. 










































































































































Italy under Roman Rule 


155 


64. Italy under Roman Rule 

Italy did not form a single state under Roman rule. About 
one-third of Italy composed the strictly Roman territory occu¬ 
pied by Roman citizens. Since ancient Rome The Roman 
knew nothing of the great principle of representa- Cltizens 
tive government, 1 it Was necessary that citizens who wished to 
vote or to stand for office should visit in person the capital city. 
Few men, of course, would journey many miles to Rome in 
order to exercise their political rights. The elections, moreover, 
were not all held on one day, as with us, but consuls, prastors, 
and other magistrates were chosen on different days, while 
meetings of the assemblies might be held at any time of the 
year. A country peasant who really tried to fulfill his duties as 
a citizen would have had little time for anything else. In prac¬ 
tice, therefore, the city populace at Rome had the controlling 
voice in ordinary legislation. The Romans were never able to 
remedy this grave defect in their political system. We shall see 
later what evils government without representation brought in 
its train. 

Over against this body of Roman citizens were the Italian 
peoples. Rome was not yet ready to grant them citizenship, 
but she did not treat them as complete subjects. The Italians 
The Italians were called the “allies and friends” 
of the Roman people. They lost the right of declaring war on 
one another, of making treaties, and of coining money. Rome 
otherwise allowed them to govern themselves, never calling on 
them for tribute and only requiring that they should furnish 
soldiers for the Roman army in time of war. These allies 
occupied a large part of the Italian peninsula. 

The Romans very early began to establish what were called 
Latin colonies 2 in various parts of Italy. The colo- The Latin 
nists were usually veteran soldiers or poor plebeians colonies 
who wanted farms of their own. When the list of colonists 

» See page 106. 

* Latin colonists did not have the right of voting in the assemblies at Rome. 
This privilege was enjoyed, however, by members of the “Roman” colonies, which 
were planted mainly along the coast 


The Rise of Rome 


156 

was made up, they all marched forth in military array to take 
possession of their new homes and to build and fortify their 
city. The Latin colonies were really offshoots of Rome and 



Roman Camp 

Every time the Roman army halted, if only for a single night, the legion¬ 
aries intrenched themselves within a square inclosure. 'It was protected by 
a ditch, an earthen mound, and a palisade of stakes. This camp formed a 
little city with its streets, its four gates, a forum, and the headquarters of 
the general. 


hence they were always faithful to her interests. Scattered 
through nearly every quarter of Italy they formed so many 
permanent camps or garrisons to keep in subjection the various 
peoples that had been conquered from time to time by the 
Roman arms. At the same time they helped mightily in 
spreading the Latin language, law, and civilization throughout 
the peninsula. 

All the colonies were united with one another and with Rome 
by an extensive system of roads. The first great road, called 

















































Italy under Roman Rule 157 


the Appian Way, was made during the period of the Samnite 
wars. It united the city of Rome with Capua and 
secured the hold of Rome on Campania. The Roman roads 
Appian Way was afterwards carried across the Apennines to 
Brundisium on the Adriatic, whence travelers embarked for the 



A view in the neighborhood of Rome. The ancient construction of the road and its 
massive paving blocks of lava have been laid bare by modern excavations. The width of the 
roadway proper was only fifteen feet. The arches, seen in the background, belong to the 
aqueduct built by the emperor Claudius in 52 a.d. 


coast of Greece. Other trunk lines were soon built in Italy, and 
from them a network of smaller highways was extended to 
every part of the peninsula. 

Roman roads had a military origin. Like the old Persian 
roads 1 they were intended to facilitate the rapid dispatch of 
troops, supplies, and official messages into every uses of Ro- 
corner of Italy. Hence the roads ran, as much as man roads 
possible, in straight lines and on easy grades. Nothing was 
allowed to obstruct their course. Engineers cut through or 
tunneled the hills, bridged rivers and gorges, and spanned low, 
swampy lands with viaducts of stone. So carefully were these 
roads constructed that some stretches of them are still in good 
i See page 40. 



The Rise of Rome 


158 

condition. These magnificent highways were free to the public. 
They naturally became avenues of trade and travel and so 
served to bring the Italian peoples into close touch with Rome. 
Rome thus began in Italy that wonderful process of Roman- 
ization which she was to extend 
Romaniza- later to Spain, Gaul, 
tion of Italy Britain. She be¬ 

gan to make the Italian peoples 
like herself in blood, speech, cus¬ 
toms, and manners. More and 
more the Italians, under Rome’s 
leadership, came to look upon 
themselves as one people — the 
people who wore the gown, or toga , 
as contrasted with the barbarous 
and trousers-wearing Gauls. 

55. The Roman Army 

While the Romans were con¬ 
quering Italy, they were making 
, . many improvements 

The legion . 

in their army. All 
leather doublet with shoulder-pieces, a citizens between the ages of seven- 

metal-plated belt, and a sword hang- . 

ing from a strap thrown over the left teen and forty-six were liable to 
shoulder. His left hand holds a large active service. These men were 

shield, his right, a heavy javelin. *111 

mainly landowners — hardy, intel¬ 
ligent peasants — who knew how to fight and how to obey or¬ 
ders. An army in the field consisted of one or more legions. 
A legion included about three thousand heavy-armed footmen, 
twelve hundred light infantry, and three hundred horsemen. 
After the conquest of Italy the states allied with Rome had to 
furnish soldiers, chiefly archers and cavalry. These auxiliaries, 
as they were called, were at least as numerous' as legionaries. 
The Romans, in carrying on war, employed not only their 
citizens but also their subjects. 

The legion offered a sharp contrast to the unwieldy phalanx. 1 

1 See page 116. 



A Roman Legionary 

From a monument of the imperial age. 
The soldier wears a metal helmet, a 










The Roman Army 


159 


Roman soldiers usually fought in an open order, with the heavy¬ 
armed infantry arranged in three lines: first, the Method of 
younger men; next, the more experienced warriors; fighting 
and lastly the veterans. A battle began with skirmishing by 
the light troops, which moved to the front and discharged their 
darts to harass the enemy. The companies of the first line next 
flung their javelins at a distance of 
from ten to twenty paces and then, 
wielding their terrible short swords, 
came at once to close quarters with 
the foe. It was like a volley of mus¬ 
ketry followed by a fierce bayonet 
charge. If the attack proved unsuc¬ 
cessful, the wearied soldiers withdrew 
to the rear through the gaps in the 
line behind. The second fine now 
marched forward to the attack; if it 
was repulsed, there was still the third 
line of steady veterans for the last and 
decisive blow. 

A very remarkable part of the Ro¬ 
man military system consisted in the 
use of fortified camps. Fortified 
Every time the army cam P s 
halted, if only for a single night, the 
legionaries intrenched themselves 
within a square inclosure. It was 
protected by a ditch, an earthen 
mound, and a palisade of stakes. 

This camp formed a little city with 
its streets, its four gates, a forum, 
and the headquarters of the general. 

Behind the walls of such a fortress an 
army was always at liberty to accept 
or decline a battle. As a proverb said, the Romans often con¬ 
quered by “sitting still.” 

Roman soldiers lived under the strictest discipline. To their 



A Roman Standard 
Bearer 

Bonn Museum 

From a gravestone of the first 
century a.d. The standard con¬ 
sists of a spear crowned with a 
wreath, below which is a crossbar 
bearing pendant acorns. Then 
follow, in order, a metal disk, Ju¬ 
piter’s eagle standing on a thunder¬ 
bolt, a crescent moon, an amulet, 
and a large tassel. 










160 The Rise of Rome 

general they owed absolute, unquestioning obedience. He 
Discipline; could condemn them to death without trial. The 
rewards and sentinel who slept on his watch, the legionary who 
honors disobeyed an order or threw away his arms on the 

field of battle, might be scourged with rods and then beheaded. 
The men were encouraged to deeds of valor by various marks 
of distinction, which the general presented to them in the pres¬ 
ence of the entire army. The highest reward was the civic 
crown of oak leaves, granted to one who had saved the life 
of a fellow-soldier on the battle field. 

The state sometimes bestowed on a victorious general the 
honor of a triumph. This was a grand parade and procession 

. in the city of Rome. First came the magistrates 
The triumph . , 

and senators, wagons laden with booty, and 

captives in chains. Then followed the conqueror himself, clad 
in a gorgeous robe and riding in a four-horse chariot. Behind 
him marched the soldiers, who sang a triumphal hymn. The 
long procession passed through the streets to the Forum and 
mounted the Capitoline Hill. There the general laid his laurel 
crown upon the knees of the statue of Jupiter, as a thank offer¬ 
ing for victory. Meanwhile, the captives who had just appeared 
in the procession were strangled in the underground prison of 
the Capitol. It was a day of mingled joy and tragedy. 

The Romans, it has been said, were sometimes vanquished in 
Military gen- battle, but they were always victorious in war. 
ius of the With the short swords of her disciplined soldiers, 
her flexible legion, and her fortified camps, Rome 
won dominion in Italy and began the conquest of the world. 

Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the Roman-dominions in 509 B.C.; in 338 B.C.; in 
264 b.c. 2. Make a list of the Roman magistrates mentioned in this chapter, and 
of the powers exercised by each. 3. Give the meaning of our English words “pa¬ 
trician,” “plebeian,” “censor,” “dictator,” “tribune,” “augury,” “auspices,” and 
“veto.” 4. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 753 b.c.; 509 
b.c.; and 338 b.c. 5. Why have Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica been called the 
“suburbs of Italy”? 6. “Italy and Greece may be described as standing back to 
back to each other.” Explain this statement. 7. What is the origin of our names 
of the two months, January and March? 8. Compare the early Roman with the 


The Roman Army 161 

early Greek religion as to (a) likenesses; ( b ) differences. 9. Why have the consuls 
been called “joint kings for one year”? 10. What do you understand by “martial 
law”? Under what circumstances is it sometimes declared in the United States? 
11. Compare the position of the Roman patricians with that of the Athenian nobles 
before the legislation of Draco and Solon. 12. What officers in American cities per¬ 
form some of the duties of the censors, praetors, and aediles? 13. In the Roman and 
Spartan constitutions contrast: ( a ) consuls and kings; (6) censors and ephors; 
and (c) the two senates. 14. Compare the Roman Senate and the Senate of the 
United States as to size, term of office of members, conditions of membership, pro¬ 
cedure, functions, and importance. 15. How far can the phrase, “government of 
the people, by the people, for the people,” be applied to the Roman Republic at 
this period? 16. What conditions made it easy for the Romans to conquer Magna 
Grsecia and difficult for them to subdue the Samnites? 17. What is a “Pyrrhic 
victory”? 18. Compare the nature of Roman rule over Italy with that of Athens 
over the Delian League. 19. Trace on the map the principal Roman roads in Italy, 
noting some of the cities along the routes and the terminal points of each road. 
20. Explain: “ All roads lead to Rome.” 21. Contrast the legion and the phalanx 
as to arrangement, armament, and method of fighting. 22. “Rome seems greater 
than her greatest men.” Comment on this statement. 



An Italian Plowman 

A bronze group from Arezzo, Italy. The 
peasant holds a pole. A front view of the yoke 
appears above. 







CHAPTER VIII 


THE GREAT AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, 264-31 B.C. 1 

56 . The Rivals: Rome and Carthage, 264-218 B.C. 

The conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading 
states of the Mediterranean world. In the East there were the 
The Punic kingdoms of Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, which 
wars had inherited the dominions of Alexander the 

Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in 
friendly alliance, but now to become the bitterest foes. Rome 
had scarcely reached the headship of united Italy before she 
was involved in a life-and-death struggle with this rival power. 
The three wars between them are known as the Punic wars; 
they are the most famous contests that ancient history records; 
and they ended in the complete destruction of Carthage. 

More than a century before the traditional date at which 
Rome rose upon her seven hills, Phoenician colonists laid the 
Foundation foundations of a second Tyre. The new city occu- 
of Carthage pi e d an admirable site, for it bordered on rich farm¬ 
ing land and had the largest harbor of the north African coast. 
A position at the junction of the eastern and western basins of 
the Mediterranean gave it unsurpassed opportunities for trade. 
At the same time Carthage was far enough away to be out of 
the reach of Persian or Macedonian conquerors. 

By the middle of the third century b.c. the Carthaginians 
Commercial had f° rm ed an imposing commercial empire. Their 
empire of African dominions included the strip of coast from 
Carthage Cyrene westward to the strait of Gibraltar. Their 
colonies covered the shores of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and 

1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History , chapter xv, “Hannibal and the Great 
Punic War ”; chapter xvi, ‘ ‘ Cato the Censor: a Roman of the Old School ’ ’; chapter 
xvii, “Cicero the Orator”; chapter xviii, “The Conquest of . Gaul, Related by 
Caesar”; chapter xix, “The Makers of Imperial Rome: Character Sketches by 
Suetonius.” 


162 


The Rivals: Rome and Carthage 


163 


southern Spain. The western half of the Mediterranean had 
become a Carthaginian lake. 

Before the opening of the Punic wars Carthage had been 
much enlarged by emigrants from Tyre, after the capture of 
that city by Alexander. 1 The Carthaginian 
Phoenician colonists kept their civilization 
own language, customs, and beliefs and did 
not mingle with the native African peoples. 

Carthage in form was a republic, but the 
real power lay in the hands of one hundred 
men, selected from the great merchant fam¬ 
ilies. It was a government by capitalists 
who cared very little for the welfare of the 
poor freemen and slaves over whom they 
ruled. The wealth of Carthage enabled her 
to raise huge armies of mercenary soldiers 
and to build warships which in size, number, 
and equipment surpassed those of any other 
Mediterranean state. Mistress of a wide 
realm, strong both by land and sea, Car¬ 
thage was now to prove herself Rome’s 
most dangerous foe. 

The First Punic War was a contest for 
Sicily. The Carthaginians aimed to estab¬ 
lish their rule over that island, 0rigin 0 f t he 
which from its situation seems First Punic 
to belong almost as much to 
Africa as to Italy. But Rome, having be¬ 
come supreme in Italy, also cast envious 
eyes on Sicily. She believed, too, that the 
Carthaginians, if they should conquer 
Sicily, would sooner or later invade southern Italy. The fear 
for her possessions, as well as the desire to gain new ones, led 
Rome to fling down the gage of battle. 

The contest between the two rival states began in 264 b.c. 
and lasted nearly twenty-four years. The Romans overran 

1 See page 123. 



Column of Duilius 
(Restored) 

The Roman admiral, 
Duilius, who won a great 
victory in 260 b.c., was 
honored by a triumphal 
column set up in the 
Forum. The monument 
was adorned with the 
brazen beaks of the cap¬ 
tured Carthaginian ves¬ 
sels. Part of the inscrip¬ 
tion, reciting the achieve¬ 
ments of the Roman fleet, 
has been preserved. 






164 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

Sicily and even made an unsuccessful invasion of Africa, but 

the main struggle was on the sea. Here at first 
Course and , ^ 00 ... . . . , 

results of the the Romans were at a disadvantage, for they had 

war, 264-241 n0 s hip S as j ar g e anc [ powerful as those of the 

Carthaginians. With characteristic energy, how¬ 
ever, they built several great war fleets and finally won a 
complete victory over the enemy. The treaty of peace pro¬ 
vided that Carthage should abandon Sicily, return all prisoners 
without ransom, and pay a heavy indemnity. 

Carthage, though beaten, had not been humbled. She had lost 
Sicily and the commercial monopoly of the Mediterranean. But 
The interval she was not rea( ly to abandon all hope of recov- 
of preparation, ering her former supremacy. The peace amounted 
241-218 B.c. no more than an armed truce. Both parties were 
well aware that the real conflict was yet to come. The war, 
however, was delayed for nearly a quarter of a century. During 
this interval Rome strengthened her military position by seizing 
the islands of Sardinia and Corsica from Carthage and by con¬ 
quering the Gauls in the Po valley. The Carthaginians, mean¬ 
while, began to create a new empire in Spain, whose silver mines 
would supply fresh means for another contest and whose hardy 
tribes would furnish soldiers as good as the Roman legionaries. 


57 . Hannibal and the Great Punic War, 218-201 B.C.. 

The steady advance of the Carthaginian arms in Spain caused 
much uneasiness in Rome and at length led that city to declare 
Beginning of war * Carthage herself was not unwilling for a 
the Second second trial of strength. Her leading general, 

2 i8 n B c“' Cannibal, who had been winning renown in Spain, 

believed that the Carthaginians were now in a 
position to wage an aggressive war against their mighty rival. 
And so the two great Mediterranean powers, each confident of 
success, renewed the struggle for supremacy. 

At the opening of the conflict Hannibal was not quite twenty- 
seven years of age. While yet a mere child, so the 
story went, his father had led him to the altar, and 
bade him swear by the Carthaginian gods eternal enmity to 


Hannibal 


Hannibal and the Great Punic War 165 

Rome. He followed his father to Spain and there learned all 
the duties of a soldier. As a master of the art of war, he ranks 
with Alexander the Great. The Macedonian king conquered 
the world for the glory of conquest; Hannibal, burning with 
patriotism, fought to destroy the power which had humbled his 
native land. He failed; and his failure left Carthage weaker 
than he found her. Few men have possessed a more dazzling 
genius than Hannibal, but his genius was not employed for 
the lasting good of humanity. 

The Romans planned to conduct the war in Spain and Africa, 
at a distance from their own shores. Hannibal’s bold move¬ 
ments totally upset these calculations. The Car- Hannibal’s 
thaginian general had determined that the con- in Jj aslon of 
flict should take place in the Italian peninsula * y 
itself. Since Roman fleets now controlled the Mediterra¬ 
nean, it was necessary for Hannibal to lead his army, with its 
supplies, equipment, and beasts of burden, by the long and dan¬ 
gerous land route from Spain to Italy. In the summer of 218 
b.c. Hannibal set out from Spain with a large force of infantry 
and cavalry, besides a number of elephants. Beyond the river 
Ebro he found himself in hostile territory, through which the 
soldiers had to fight their way. To force the passage of the 
Pyrenees and the Alps cost him more than half his original 
army. When, after a five months’ march he stood on the soil of 
Italy, Hannibal had scarcely twenty-five thousand troops with 
which to meet the immense power of Rome a power that, 
given time, could muster to her defense more than half a million 
disciplined soldiers. 

The Romans were surprised by the boldness and rapidity of 
Hannibal’s movements. They had expected to conduct the 
war far away in foreign lands; they now knew that First victories 
they must fight for their own homes and firesides. of Hanmbal 
The first battles were complete victories for the Carthaginians 
and opened the road to Rome. Hannibal’s plans, however, did 
not include a siege of the capital. He would not shatter his 
victorious army in an assault on a fortified town. Hannibal s 
real object was to bring the Italians over to hi? side, to ruin 


x66 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


A dictatorship 


Rome through the revolts of her allies. But now he learned, 
apparently for the first time, that Italy was studded with Latin 
colonies, 1 each a miniature Rome, each prepared to resist to the 
bitter end. Not a single city opened its gates to the invader. 
On such solid foundations rested Roman rule in Italy. 

The Senate faced the crisis with characteristic energy. New 
forces were raised and intrusted to a dictator, 2 Quintus Fabius 
Maximus. He refused to meet Hannibal in a 
pitched battle, but followed doggedly his enemy’s 
footsteps, meanwhile drilling his soldiers to become a match for 

the Carthaginian veterans. This 
strategy was little to the taste of 
the Roman populace, who nick¬ 
named Fabius Cunctator , “the 
Laggard.” However, it gave 
Rome a brief breathing space, un¬ 
til her preparations to crush the 
invader should be completed. 

After the term of Fabius as dic¬ 
tator had expired, new consuls 

Battle Of were chosen. They 
Cannae, commanded the 

216 B.c. largest army Rome 
had ever put in the field. The opposing forces met at Cannae 
in Apulia. The Carthaginians numbered less than fifty thousand 
men; the Romans had more than eighty thousand troops. Han¬ 
nibal’s sole superiority lay in his cavalry, which was posted on 
the wings with the infantry occupying the space between. 
Hannibal’s center was weak and gave way before the Romans, 
who fought this time massed in solid columns. The arrange¬ 
ment was a poor one, for it destroyed the mobility of the legions. 
The Roman soldiers, having pierced the enemy’s lines, now 
found themselves exposed on both flanks to the African infantry 
and taken in the rear by Hannibal’s splendid cavalry. The 
battle ended in a hideous butchery. One of the consuls died 
fighting bravely to the last; the other escaped from the field 



A Carthaginian or Roman 
Helmet 

British Museum, London 
Found on the battle field of Cannae. 


1 See page 155. 


2 See page 149. 



Hannibal and the Great Punic War 167 

and with the wreck of his army fled to Rome. A Punic com¬ 
mander who survived such a disaster would have perished on 
the cross; the Roman commander received the thanks of the 
Senate “for not despairing of the republic.” 1 

The battle of Cannae marks the summit of HannibaFs career. 
He maintained himself in Italy for thirteen years thereafter, but 
the Romans, taught by bitter experience, refused Aftgf Cannge 
another engagement with their' foe. HannibaFs 
army was too small and too poorly equipped with siege engines 
for a successful attack on Rome. His brother, Hasdrubal, led 
strong reinforcements from Spain to Italy, but these were 
caught and destroyed before they could effect a junction with 
HannibaFs troops. Meanwhile the brilliant Roman commander, 
Publius Scipio, drove the Carthaginians from Spain and invaded 
Africa. Hannibal was summoned from Italy to face this new 
adversary. He came, and on the field of Zama (202 b.c.) met 
his first and only defeat. Scipio, the victor, received the proud 
surname, Africanus. 

Exhausted Carthage could now do no more than sue for peace 
on any terms that Rome was willing to grant. In the hour of 
defeat she still trusted her mighty soldier, and it Peace in 201 
was Hannibal who conducted the final negotia- B,c * 
tions. The conditions of peace were severe enough. The 
Carthaginians gave up Spain and all their ships except ten 
triremes. They were saddled with a huge indemnity and bound 
to engage in no war without the consent of Rome. Carthage 
thus became a dependent ally of the Roman city. 

In describing the course and outcome of the Second Punic 
War our sympathies naturally go out to the heroic figure of 
Hannibal, who fought so long and so bravely for victorious 
his native land. It is clear, however, that Rome s Bome 
victory in the gigantic struggle was essential to the continued 
progress of classical civilization. The triumph of Carthage in the 
third century, like that of Persia in the fifth century, 2 must have 
resulted in the spread of Oriental ideas and customs through¬ 
out the Mediterranean. From this fate Rome saved Europe. 

1 Livy, xxii, 61. 8 See page 100. 


168 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


58, Roman Supremacy in the West and in the East, 
201-133 B.C. 

Carthage had been humbled, but not destroyed. She still 
enjoyed the advantages of her magnificent situation and con- 
Third Punic tinued to be a competitor of Rome for the trade of 
War begun, the Mediterranean. The Romans watched with 
jealousy the reviving strength of the Punic city 
and at last determined to blot it out of existence. In 149 b.c. a 



large army was landed in Africa, and the inhabitants of Carthage 
were ordered to remove ten miles from the sea. They resolved 
to perish in the ruins of their capital, rather than obey such a 
cruel command. 

Carthage held out for three years. The doubtful honor of its 
capture belonged to Scipio ^Emilianus, grandson, by adoption, 
Destruction the victor of Zama. For seven days the legion- 
of Carthage, aries fought their way, street by street, house by 
house, until only fifty thousand inhabitants were 
left to surrender to the tender mercies of the Romans. The 


A relief from the Column of Trajan, Rome. The name testudo, a tortoise (shell), was ap¬ 
plied to the covering made by a body of soldiers who placed their shields over their heads. 
The shields fitted so closely together that men could walk on them and even horses and 
chariots could be driven over them. 


A Testudo 




Roman Supremacy in the West and in the East 169 


Sicily 


Spain 


Senate ordered that the city should be burned and that its site 
should be plowed up and dedicated to the infernal gods. 
Such was the end of the most formidable rival Rome ever met 
in her career of conquest. 1 

The two European countries, Sicily and Spain, which Rome 
had taken from Carthage, presented to the conqueror very 
different problems. Sicily had been long accus¬ 
tomed to foreign masters. Its civilized and peace- 
loving inhabitants were as ready to accept Roman rule as, in 
the past, they had accepted the rule of Greeks and Car¬ 
thaginians. Every year the island became more and more a 
part of Italy and of Rome. 

Spain, on the contrary, gave the Romans some hard fighting. 
The wild Spanish tribes loved their liberty, and in their moun¬ 
tain fastnesses long kept up a desperate struggle 
for independence. It was not until the Romans 
sent Scipio vEmilianus to Spain that the Spanish resistance was 
finally overcome (133 b.c.). 

All Spain, except the inaccessible mountain district in the 
northwest, now became Roman territory. Many colonists 
settled there; traders and speculators flocked to Romaniza- 
the seaports; even the legionaries, quartered in tion of spam 
Spain for long periods, married Spanish wives and, on retiring 
from active service, made their homes in the peninsula. Rome 
thus continued in Spain the process of Romanization which she 
had begun in Italy. 2 She was to repeat this process in Gaul 
and Britain. 3 Her way was prepared by the sword; but after 
the sword came civilization. 

While Rome was subduing the West, she was also extending 
her influence over the highly civilized peoples of the East. 
Roman interference in the affairs of Macedonia Rome and 
found an excuse in the attempt of that country, Macedonia 
during the Second Punic War, to give aid to Hannibal. It 

1 In 29 b.c., one hundred and seventeen years after the destruction of Carthage 
at the end of the Punic wars, a new town was founded near the old site by the 
emperor Augustus. It became in time the third city of the Roman Empire. It 
was destroyed by the Arabs in 698 a.d. 

a See page 158. 


3 See pages 184 and iq7- 


170 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

was a fateful moment when, for the second time, the legion 
faced the phalanx. The easy victory over Macedonia showed 
that this Hellenistic kingdom was no match for the Italian re¬ 
public. Macedonia was finally made into a subject state or 
province of Rome. Thus disappeared a great power, which 
Philip had founded and which Alexander had led to the con¬ 
quest of the world. 



Storming a City (Reconstruction) 


Having subdued Macedonia, Rome proclaimed Greece a 
free state. But this “freedom” really meant subjection, as was 
Rome and amply proved when some of the Greek cities rose 

Ap A • _ 

m revolt against Roman domination. The heavy 
hand of Roman vengeance especially descended on Corinth, at 
this time one of the most beautiful cities of the world. In 146 
b.c., the same year in which the destruction of Carthage oc¬ 
curred, Corinth was sacked and burned to the ground. 1 The 
fall of Corinth may be said to mark the final extinction of Greek 
liberty. Though the Hellenic cities and states were allowed to 

1 Corinth offered too good a site to remain long in ruins. Resettled in 46 B.c. 
as a Roman colony, it soon became one of the great cities in the empire. It was to 
the Corinthians that St. Paul wrote two of his Epistles. 













The Mediterranean World under Roman Rule 171 

rule themselves, they paid tribute and thus acknowledged the 
supremacy of Rome. A century later, Greece became in name, 
as well as in fact, a province of the Roman Empire. 1 

Rome, in the meantime, was drawn into a conflict with the 
kingdom of Syria. That Asiatic power proved to be no more 
capable than Macedonia of checking the Roman Rome and 
advance. The Syrian king had to give up the Syria 
greater part of his possessions in Asia Minor. The western part 
of the peninsula, together with the Greek cities on the coast, 
was formed in 133 b.c. into the province of Asia. Thus the 
same year that witnessed the complete establishment of Roman 
rule in Spain saw Rome gain her first possessions at the op¬ 
posite end of the Mediterranean. 

Roman supremacy over the Mediterranean world was now all 
but complete. In 264 b.c. Rome had been only one of the five 
great Mediterranean states. In 133 b.c no other Political situ _ 
power existed to match its strength with that of ation in 133 
Rome. To her had fallen in the West the heritage B ’ C ‘ 
of Carthage, in the East the heritage of Alexander. Rome had 
built up this mighty empire at a terrible cost in blood and treas¬ 
ure. Let us see what use she was to make of it. 

59 . The Mediterranean World under Roman Rule 

Rome’s dealings with the new dependencies across the sea 
did not follow the methods that had proved so successful in 
Italy. The Italian peoples had been treated with creation of 
great liberality. Rome regarded them as allies, the provincial 
exempted them from certain taxes, and in many system 
instances gave them Roman citizenship. It did not seem possi¬ 
ble to extend this wise policy to remote and often barbarous 
lands beyond the borders of Italy. Rome adopted, instead, 
much the same system of imperial rule that had been previously 
followed by Persia and by Athens. 2 She treated the foreign 

1 The Greeks were not again a free people until the nineteenth century of our era. 
In 1821 a.d. they rose against their Turkish masters in a glorious struggle for liberty. 
Eight years later the powers of Europe forced the Sultan to recognize the freedom 
of Greece. That country then became an independent kingdom, with its capital 
at Athens. 4 See pages 39-40 and 104. 


ij2 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

peoples from Spain to Asia as subjects and made her con 
quered territories into provinces. 1 Their inhabitants were com¬ 
pelled to pay tribute and to accept the oversight of Roman 
officials. 

As the Romans came more and more to relish the opportu¬ 
nities for plunder afforded by a wealthy province, its inhabitants 
Evils of the were dften wretchedly misgoverned. Many gov- 
provincial ernors of the conquered lands were corrupt a$d 
grasping men. They tried to wring all the money 
they could from their helpless subjects. To the extortions of the 
governors must be added those of the tax collectors, whose very 
name of “publican” 2 became a byword for all that was rapa¬ 
cious and greedy. In this first effort to manage the world she 
had won, Rome had certainly made a failure. A city-state 
could not rule, with justice and efficiency, an empire. 

In the old days, before Rome entered on a career of foreign 
conquest, her citizens were famous among men for their love of 
The profits country, their simple lives, and their conservative, 
of conquest old-fashioned ways. They worked hard on their 
little farms, fought bravely in the legions, and kept up with 
careful piety all the ceremonies of their religion. But now'the 
Roman republic w, : an imperial power with all the prcvileges 
of universal rule. Her foreign wars proved to be immbqsely 
profitable. At the end of a successful campaign the soldiers 
received large gifts from their general, besides the booty taken 
from the enemy. The Roman state itself profited from the sale 
of enslaved prisoners and their property. Large sums of money 
were sometimes seized and taken to Rome. When once peace 
had been made, the Roman governors and tax collectors fol¬ 
lowed in the wake of the armies and squeezed the provincials at 
every turn. The Romans, indeed, seem to have conquered the 
world less for glory than for profit. 

So much wealth poured into Rome from every side that there 

1 In 133 B.c. there were eight provinces — Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hither 
Spain, Farther Spain, Illyricum, Africa, Macedonia, and Asia. See the map facing 
page 184. 

2 In the New Testament “publicans and sinners” are mentioned side by side. 
See Matthew, ix, io. 


The Mediterranean World under Roman Rule 173 

could scarcely fail to be a sudden growth of luxurious tastes. 
Rich nobles quickly developed a relish for all Growth of 
sorts of reckless display. They built fine houses luxury 
adorned with statues, costly paintings, and furnishings. They 
surrounded themselves with troops of slaves. Instead of plain 
linen clothes they and their wives wore garments of s ilk and 
gold. At their banquets they spread embroidered carpets, 
purple coverings, and dishes of gilt plate. Pomp and splendor 
replaced the rude simplicity of an earlier age. 

But if the rich were becoming richer, it seems that the poor 
were also becoming poorer. After Rome became mistress of 
the Mediterranean, her markets were flooded with Di sappea r- 
the cheap wheat raised in the provinces, especially ance of the 
in those granaries, Sicily and Africa. The price peasantry 
of wheat fell so low that Roman peasants could not raise 
enough to support their families and pay their taxes. When 
agriculture became unprofitable, the farmer was no longer able 
to remain on the soil. He had to sell out, often at a ruinous 
sacrifice. His land was bought by capitalists, who turned many 
small fields into vast sheep pastures and cattle ranches. Gangs 
of slaves, laboring under the lash, gradually took the place 
of the old Roman peasantry, the very strength of the state. 
Not unjust was the famous remark, “Great domains ruined 
Italy.” 1 

The decline of agriculture and the disappearance of the small 
farmer under the stress of foreign competition may be studied 
in modern England as well as in ancient Italy. The exodus 
Nowadays an English farmer, under the same cir- t0 the Clties 
cumstances, will often emigrate to America or to Australia, 
where land is cheap and it is easy to make a living. But these 
Roman peasants did not care to go abroad and settle on better 
soil in Spain or in Africa. They thronged, instead, to the cities, 
to Rome especially, where they labored for a small wage, fared 
plainly on wheat bread, and dwelt in huge lodging houses, 
three or four stories high. 

We know very little about this poorer population of Rome. 

1 Latijundia perdidere Italiam (Pliny, Natural History , xviii, 7). 


174 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


The city mob 


They must have lived from hand to mouth. Since their votes 
controlled elections, 1 they were courted by candi¬ 
dates for office and kept from grumbling by being 
fed and amused. Such poor citizens, too lazy for steady work, 
too intelligent to starve, formed, with the other riffraff of a great 
city, the elements of a dangerous mob. And the mob, hence¬ 
forth, plays an ever-larger part in the history of the times. 

We must not imagine, however, that all the changes in Roman 
life worked for evil. If the Romans were becoming more luxu- 
Hellenic in- hous, they were likewise gaining in culture. The 
fluence at conquests which brought Rome in touch, first with 
Magna Graecia and Sicily, then with Greece itself 
and the Hellenic East, prepared the way for the entrance of 
Hellenism. Roman soldiers and traders carried back to Italy 
an acquaintance with Greek customs and ideas. Thousands of 
cultivated Greeks, some as slaves, others as freemen, settled in 
the capital as actors, physicians, artists, and writers. There 
they introduced the Greek language, as well as the religion, 
literature, and art of their native land. Roman nobles of the 
better type began to take an interest in other things than simply 
farming, commerce, or war. They imitated Greek fashions in 
dress and manners, collected Greek books, and filled their 
homes with the productions of Greek artists. Henceforth every 
aspect of Roman society felt the quickening influence of the 
older, richer culture of the Hellenic world. It was a Roman 
poet who wrote, “Captive Greece captured her conqueror 
rude.” 2 

60. The Gracchi 


In 133 b.c., a year otherwise made memorable by the final 
subjugation of Spain and the acquisition of Asia, efforts began 
Tiberius and at R° me to remedy some of the disorders which 
Gaius Grac- were now seen to be sapping the strength of Roman 
society. The first persons to undertake the work 
of reform were the two brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. 
The Gracchi belonged to the highest nobility of Rome. Their 
father had filled a consulship and a censorship and had cele- 
1 See page 155. 2 Horace, Epistles, ii, 1, 156. 


The Gracchi 


175 

bra ted triumphs. Cornelia, their mother, was a daughter of 
Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Hannibal. A fine type of 
the Roman matron, she called her boys her “jewels,” more 
precious than gold, and brought them up to love their country 
better than their own fives. Tiberius, the elder brother, was 
only thirty years of age when he became a tribune and began 
his career in Roman politics. 

Tiberius signalized his election to the tribunate by bringing 
forward his celebrated agrarian law. He proposed that the 
public lands of Rome, then largely occupied by Agrar ianiaw 
wealthy men who alone had the money neces- of Tiberius 
sary to work them with cattle and slaves, should Gracchus 
be reclaimed by the state, divided into small tracts, and given to 
the poorer citizens. By getting the people back again on the 
soil, Tiberius hoped to revive the declining agriculture of Italy. 

This agrarian law, though well intentioned, did not go to the 
root of the real difficulty — foreign competition. No legislation 
could have helped the farming class, except import Defects of 
duties to keep out the cheap grain from abroad, the agrarian 
But the idle mob at Rome, controlling the assem- aw 
blies, would never have voted in favor of taxing their food, thus 
making it more expensive. At the same time the proposal to take 
away part of the public domains from its possessors roused a hor¬ 
net’s nest about the reformer’s ears. Rich people had occupied 
the public land for so long that they had come to look upon it as 
really their own. They would be very sure to oppose such a meas¬ 
ure. Poor people, of course, welcomed a scheme which promised 
to give them farms for nothing. Tiberius even wished to use 
the public funds to stock the farms of his new peasantry. This 
would have been a mischievous act of state philanthropy. 

In spite of these defects in his measure, Tiberius urged its 
passage with fiery eloquence. But the great land- Failure and 
owners in the Senate got another tribune, devoted death of 
to their interests, to place his veto 1 on the proposed ™ e ™?’ 
legislation. The impatient Tiberius at once took a 
revolutionary step. Though a magistrate could not legally be 

1 See page 150. 


176 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

removed from office, Tiberius had the offending tribune deposed 
and dragged from his seat. The law was then passed without 
further opposition. This action of Tiberius placed him clearly 
in the wrong. The aristocrats threatened to punish him as soon 
as his term of office was over. To avoid impeachment Tiberius 
sought reelection to the tribunate for the following year. This, 
again, was contrary to custom, since no one might hold office 
for two successive terms. On the day appointed for the elec¬ 
tion, while voting was in progress, a crowd of angry senators 
burst into the Forum and killed Tiberius, together with three 
hundred of his followers. Both sides had now begun to display 
an utter disregard for law. Force and bloodshed, henceforth, 
were to help decide political disputes. 

Tiberius Gracchus, in his efforts to secure economic reform, 
had unwittingly provoked a conflict between the Senate and the 
„ . „ assemblies. Ten years after his death, his brother, 

chus becomes Gaius Gracchus, came to the front. Gaius quickly 
m^c made himself a popular leader with the set pur¬ 
pose of remodeling the government of Rome. 
He found in the tribunate an office from which to work 
against the Senate. After the death of Tiberius a law had 
been passed permitting a man to hold the position of tribune 
year after year. Gaius intended to be a sort of perpetual 
tribune, and to rule the Roman assemblies very much as 
Pericles had ruled the people at Athens . 1 One of his first 
measures was a law permitting the sale of grain from the 
public storehouses to Roman citizens at about half the 
market price. This measure, of course, won over the city 
mob, but it must be regarded as very unwise. It saddled 
the treasury with a heavy burden, and later the government 
had to furnish the grain for nothing. Indiscriminate charity 
of this sort increased, rather than lessened, the number of 
paupers. 

Having won popular support, Gaius was able to secure the 
additional legislation which he deemed necessary to carry out 
his brother’s work. He reenacted the land laws for the benefit 

1 See page 103. 


The Gracchi 


177 


of the peasantry and furnished work for the unemployed by 
building roads throughout Italy. He also began Measures of 
to establish colonies of poor citizens, both in Italy Gaius to re- 
and in the provinces. This was a wise policy. heve the poor 
Had it been allowed to continue, such state-assisted emigration, 
by providing the landless poor of Italy with farms abroad, 
would have relieved the economic distress of the peninsula. 

Gaius now came forward with another measure which marked 
him as an able and prudent statesman. He proposed to bestow 
the right of voting in the Roman assemblies upon ^ 

the inhabitants of the Latin colonies . 1 He thought, extend 
also, that the Italian allies should be allowed to ^zenship 
. intermarry with Romans and hold property under 
the protection of the Roman law. No doubt Gaius believed 
that the time might come when all the Italian peoples would 
be citizens of Rome. This time did come, thirty years later, 
but only after a terrible war that nearly ruined Rome. 

The effort by Gaius to extend Roman citizenship cost the 
reformer all his hard-won popularity. It aroused the jealousy 
of the selfish city mob, which believed that the Failureand 
entrance of so many new citizens would mean the death of 
loss of its privileges. There would not be so many 
free shows and so much cheap grain. So the people 
rejected the measure and, turning from their former favorite, 
failed to reelect him to the tribunate. When Gaius was no 
longer protected by the sanctity of the tribune’s office , 2 he 
fell an easy victim to senatorial hatred. Another bloody 
tumult broke out, in which Gaius and three thousand of 
his followers perished. The consul who quelled the disturb¬ 
ance erected at the head of the Forum a temple to Harmony 
( Concordia ). 

The pathetic career of the Gracchi had much significance in 
Roman history. • They were the unconscious spon- G racc hi 
sors of a revolutionary movement which did not * he rev ~ 

end until the republic had come under the rule of 
one man. They failed because they put their trust in the 
1 See page 155, note 2. 2 See P a S e I S°- 


178 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


support of the Roman mob. Future agitators were to appear 
with the legionaries at their heels. 


61. Marius and Sulla 


Although Rome now ruled throughout the Mediterranean, 
she was constantly engaged in border wars in one corner or 
Marius and an °th er of her wide dominions. These wars 
the Jugur- brought to the front new military leaders, of whom 

thine War, fi rst was Gaius Marius. He was a peasant’s 

son, a coarse, rude soldier, but an honest, coura¬ 
geous, and able man. Marius rose to prominence in the so- 
called Jugurthine War, which the Romans were waging against 
Jugurtha, king of Numidia. That wily African had discovered 
that it was easier to bribe the Roman commanders than to 
fight them; and the contest dragged on in disgraceful fashion 
year after year. Marius at last persuaded the people to elect 
him consul and intrust him with the conduct of the war. By 
generalship and good fortune he speedily concluded the 
struggle and brought Jugurtha in chains to Rome. 

A few years later Marius had another opportunity to win 
distinction. He became the defender of Rome and Italy against 
a dangerous invasion of Germanic barbarians, who 
were ravaging Transalpine Gaul and the Po Valley. 
The decisive victories which Marius gained over 
them removed a grave danger which threatened 
the Roman world. The time had not yet come for ancient 
civilization to be submerged under a wave of barbarism. 

The second military leader whom this troubled period 
brought forth was Lucius Cornelius Sulla. He was a man of 
Sulla and the n °ble birth, and with his social gifts, his appre- 
Sociai War, ciation of art and letters, his knowledge of men 
and the world, presented a sharp contrast to 
Marius. Sulla’s great abilities quickly brought him into public 
notice; he rose rapidly from one office to another; and in the 
Social War showed his skill as a commander. This struggle was 
the consequence of Rome’s refusal to grant the rights of citizen¬ 
ship to her Italian allies. The strength of the rebellion lay 


Marius and 
the war with 
the Germans, 
102-101 B.C. 


Marius and Sulla 


179 


among the Samnites and other peoples of central and southern 
Italy. The war came to an end only when Rome promised the 
franchise to all Italians who returned to their allegiance. Before 
many years had passed, the inhabitants of nearly all the Italian 
towns south of the Rubicon River received Roman citizenship. 
It was this same wise policy of making conquered peoples equal 
with herself that afterwards led Rome to grant citizenship to 
the inhabitants of the provinces. 1 

What military honors were gained in the struggle belonged 
to Sulla. His reward was the consulship and an appointment 
as general in still another conflict which distracted gulla and the 
Rome had to face. While that city had been busy Mithradatic 
with civil enemies and barbarian foes, a powerful ^ar , 88-84 
state, known as Pontus, had been growing up 
in Asia Minor. Its king, Mithradates, overran the Roman 
provinces in the Orient and threatened to annex them to his 
own kingdom. But Sulla, with greatly inferior forces, com¬ 
pelled Mithradates to abandon his conquests, surrender his 
fleet, and pay a large indemnity. If Marius had the honor 
of repelling the barbarian invasion of the West, Sulla had the 
honor of preserving Rome’s possessions in the East. 

Marius and Sulla were rivals not only in war but also in pol¬ 
itics. Sulla naturally espoused the aristocratic cause and stood 
as the champion of the Senate. Marius just as R i va i ry 0 f 
naturally became the head of the democratic Marius and 
party. The rivalry between the two leaders finally 
led to civil war. During Sulla’s absence in the East the demo¬ 
crats got the upper hand at Rome and revenged themselves by 
murdering their political foes among the aristocrats. The 
reign of terror ended only with the sudden death of Marius, 
just after he had been elected to his seventh consulship. A few 
years later Sulla returned to Italy with his army and defeated 
the democrats in a great battle outside the Colline Gate, of 
Rome. Sulla signalized his victory by ordering the assassination 
of every prominent man in the democratic party. 

Sulla regarded this legalized butchery as a necessary step iD 
* See page 204* 


i8o The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


his self-appointed task of putting the Roman government once 
Sulla as more to rights. He now received the title of “Per- 

“ Perpetual petual Dictator,” with complete authority to 

govern the state until the new order of things 
should be established. Rome thus came under the rule of one 
man for the first time since the expulsion of the kings. 

The various measures by which Sulla intrenched the Senate 
in power did not long survive his death and hence had no last- 
Suiia’s death, ing influence on Roman politics. After a rule of 
78 B - c - three years Sulla voluntarily gave up the dictator¬ 
ship and retired to his villa on the bay of Naples. He died a 

few months later. The Senate 
honored him with a public funeral, 
the most splendid that Rome had 
ever seen. His monument bore an 
inscription which the dictator him¬ 
self is said to have composed: “No 
friend ever did him a kindness and 
no enemy, a wrong, without being 
fully repaid.” 1 That was one epi¬ 
taph which told the truth. 


^62. Pompey and Caesar 

\^he struggle between Marius and 
'sulla, decided as it was by the 
Rise of sword, marks a stage 

Pompey j n d ec li ne 0 f the 

Roman Republic. The careers of 



Gn^eus Pompeius Magnus 

Spada Palace, Rome 


these two men showed how easily the state could be ruled by a 
successful commander who had his soldiers behind him. After 
Sulla’s death his friend Pompey became the leading figure in 
Roman politics. Pompey’s first service was in Spain, where the 
adherents of Marius sought to humble the Senate and the aris¬ 
tocratic party by encouraging the Spaniards to rise against Ro¬ 
man rule. Having crushed this rebellion, Pompey returned to 
Italy in time to take part in putting down a formidable insur- 

1 Plutarch, Sulla, 38 . 



Pompey and Caesar 


181 


rection of slaves, outlaws, and ruined peasants. He was next 
intrusted with the war against the pirates, who swarmed in the 
Mediterranean, preyed on commerce, and plundered wealthy 
cities near the coast. Brilliant success in clearing the seas of 
these marauders led to his being sent to the East to end the 
war with Mithradates, who was once more in arms against 
Rome. Pompey drove the 
Pontic monarch from his king¬ 
dom and then annexed Syria 
to the Roman dominions. 

When Pompey returned to 
Rome in 62 b.c., he brought 
with him a reputation as the 
most successful general of his 
time. 

We have seen how steadily 
since the days of the Gracchi 
the Roman state Marcus 
had been moving Tulllus Cicero 
toward the rule of one man. 

Marius, Sulla, and Pompey 
each represent a step in the 
direction of monarchy. Yet 



Marcus Tullius Cicero 

Vatican Museum, Rome 


there were still able and patriotic leaders at Rome who be¬ 
lieved in the old order of things and tried their best to uphold 
the fast-perishing republic. No republican statesman was more 
devoted to the constitution than Cicero. A native of Arpinum, 
the same Italian town which had already given birth to Marius, 
Cicero came to Rome a youth without wealth or family influ¬ 
ence. He made his way into Roman society by his social and 
conversational powers and by his capacity for friendship. His 
mind had been carefully trained under the influence of Hellenic 
culture; he had traveled and studied in Greece; and through¬ 
out life he loved to steal away from the tumult of the Forum 
and the law courts and enjoy the companionship of his books. 
Though the proud nobles were inclined to look down on him 
as a “new man.” Cicero’s splendid eloquence soon gave him 



182 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

prominence in politics. He ranks in fame as the second orator 
of antiquity, inferior only to Demosthenes. 

Cicero rose to prominence through his prosecution of Verres, 
a thieving governor of Sicily. Verres had powerful friends 
impeachment amon g the nobles at Rome and counted on his 
of Verres, influence and wealth to escape punishment. He 
openly boasted that he had plunder enough to 
live in luxury, even though he had to surrender two-thirds of it 
as fees to his lawyers and bribes to the jury. But Verres had 
not reckoned with the brilliant young advocate who took up 
the cause of the oppressed provincials. Cicero hurried to Sicily 
and there collected such an overwhelming mass of evidence that 
the bare statement of the facts was enough to condemn the 
criminal. Verres went into exile. Cicero became the head of 
the Roman bar. Seven years later he was elected consul. 

The year of Cicero’s consulship was marked by an event 
which throws a lurid light on the conditions of the time. Lucius 
Conspiracy of Catiline, a young noble of ability, but bankrupt in 
Catiline, character and purse, organized a conspiracy to 
seize Rome, murder the magistrates, and plunder 
the rich. He gathered about himself outlaws of every descrip¬ 
tion, slaves, and starving peasants — all the discontented and 
needy classes throughout Italy. He and his associates were 
desperate anarchists who sought to restore their own broken 
fortunes by overturning the government. The spread of the in¬ 
surrection was checked by Cicero’s vigorous measures. In a 
series of famous speeches he exposed Catiline’s plans to the 
astounded Senate. Catiline then fled to his camp in Etruria 
and shortly afterwards perished in battle, together with three 
thousand of his followers. Cicero now gained fresh popularity 
and honor. The grateful citizens called him “ Father of his 
Country” {Pater Patrice). 

Rome at this time held another prominent leader in politics, 
namely, Gaius Julius Caesar. He belonged to a noble family, 
Rise of but his father had favored the democratic cause 

Csesar and his aunt had married Marius. After Sulla’s 

death Caesar threw himself with energy into the game of politics 


i8 3 


Pompey and Caesar 

at the capital city. In these early years the future statesman 
seems to have been a demagogue of the usual type, who 
sought through the favor of the people a rapid rise to power. 
He won the ear of the multitude by his fiery harangues, his 
bribes of money, and his gifts of food and public shows. 
Caesar’s expenditures for such purposes 
were enormous. Before he was twenty- 
four he had spent all his private for¬ 
tune. Henceforth he was “financed” 
by the millionaire Crassus, who lent 
him the money so necessary for a suc¬ 
cessful career as a politician. 

Caesar and Crassus, the two leaders 
of the democratic party at Rome, now 
joined with Pompey in The First 
what is called the First Triumvirate, 

Triumvirate. To this 60 B,c * 

“ring” Pompey contributed his mili¬ 
tary reputation, Crassus, his wealth, 
and Caesar, his influence over the Ro¬ 
man mob. Supported both by the 
people and by the army, these three 
men were really masters of Rome. 

An immediate result of the First Tri¬ 
umvirate was the appointment of Caesar as governor of 
Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul. 

The story of his career in Gaul has been related by Caesar 
himself in the famous Commentaries . This book describes a 
series of military successes which have given .the Cgesar , s 
author a place among the world’s generals. Caesar campaigns 
overran Transalpine Gaul, twice bridged the Rhine B c ’ 
and invaded Germany, made two expeditions to 
Britain, and brought within the Roman dominions all the ter¬ 
ritory bounded by the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Rhine, and the 
Atlantic Ocean. 

Caesar’s conquests in Gaul are more than a chapter in the 
history of the art of war. They belong to the history of civili- 



Gaius Julius Caesar 

British Museum, London 







184 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

zation. Henceforth the frontier of prehistoric Europe retreated 
Romaniza- rapidly to the north. The map of the ancient civi- 
tion of Gaul ii ze d wor id widened from the Mediterranean basin 
to the shores of the Atlantic. Into the conquered lands came 
the Latin language, the Roman law, and the customs and in¬ 
stitutions of Rome. Gaul speedily became one of the most 
flourishing parts of the Roman world. “Let the Alps sink,” 
exclaimed Cicero, “the gods raised them to shelter Italy from 
the barbarians, but now they are no longer needed.” 

During Caesar’s long absence in Gaul the First Triumvirate 
was suddenly ended by the death of one of its members. It 
Defeat and been a part of their bargain in dividing the 

death of Roman world that Crassus should have the govern- 
ment of Syria. But this unlucky general, while 
aspiring to rival Caesar’s exploits by new con¬ 
quests beyond the Euphrates, lost his army and his life in battle 
with the Parthians. Besides checking the extension of the 
Roman arms in the remote East, the disaster had its effect 
on Roman politics. It dissolved the triumvirate and prepared 
the way for that rivalry between. Caesar and Pompey which 
formed the next step in the downward course of the republic. 

The two men were now rapidly drawing apart. Pompey 

grew more and more jealous of Caesar and more and more fear- 

_ . ful that the latter was aiming at despotic power. 

Growing op- 

position be- He himself had no desire to be king or dictator, 
tween Pompey jj e was e q ua Hy determined that Caesar should not 
gain such a position. In this attitude he had the 
full support of Cicero and the other members of the Senate. 
They saw clearly that the real danger to the state was Caesar, 
not Pompey. 

Caesar’s command in Gaul was to expire in 49 b.c. The sen¬ 
atorial party desired that he should return to Rome without 
Caesar de- an arm ^- His opponents intended to prosecute 
dares war on him when he became a private citizen. Caesar had 
49 e B e c UbhC> no inclination to trust himself to their tender 
mercies and refused to disband his legions unless 
his rival did the same. Finally the Senate, conscious of Pom- 


Pompey and Caesar 185 

pey’s support, ordered him to lay down his arms on pain of 
outlawry. Caesar replied to this challenge of the Senate by 
leading his troops across the Rubicon, the little stream that 
separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy. As he plunged into the 
river, he exclaimed, “The die is cast.” 1 He had now declared 
war on the republic. 

Caesar’s bold movement caught the senatorial party un¬ 
awares. Pompey could not gather his legions before his auda¬ 
cious foe reached Rome. Finding it impossible to Caesar mas _ 
make a stand in Italy, Pompey, with the consuls ter of the 
and many senators, withdrew to Greece. Caesar 
did not follow him at once. He hurried to Spain and, after a 
brilliant campaign only six weeks in length, broke down the 
republican resistance in that peninsula. Having now secured 
Italy and Spain, Caesar was free to turn his forces against 
Pompey in the East. 

The final battle took place on the plain of Pharsalus in Thes¬ 
saly. Pompey’s troops, though nearly twice as numerous as 
Caesar’s, were defeated after a severe struggle. Battle of 
Their great leader then fled to Egypt, only to be Pharsalus, 48 
foully murdered. Pompey’s head was sent to 
Caesar, but he turned from it with horror. Such was the end of 
an able general and an honest man, one who should have lived 
two hundred years earlier, when Rome was still a free state. 

After Pharsalus there still remained several years of fighting 
before Caesar’s victory was complete. He made Cleopatra, the 
beautiful queen of Egypt, secure in the possession of Ccesar in 
the throne and brought that country into depend- 
ence on Rome. He passed through Asia Minor and Africa’ 48-46 
in one swift campaign crushed a revolt headed by BC- 
the son of Mithradates. The conqueror sent tidings of his vic¬ 
tory in a laconic dispatch: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” 2 After 
subduing the remnants of the senatorial party in Africa, Ca;sar 
returned home to crown his exploits by a series of splendid tri¬ 
umphs and to enjoy less than two years of untrammeled power. 

1 Suetonius, Julius Casar, 32 . 

2 Veni, vidi, vici (Suetonius, Julius Casar, 37 ). 


186 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


63. The Work of Caesar 


position of 
Caesar 




A Roman Coin with the Head of 
Julius Caesar 


The new government which Caesar brought into being was a 
monarchy in all except name. He became dictator for life and 
Authority and other republican offices, such as the consul¬ 

ship and censorship. He refused the title of king, 
but accepted as a civil magistrate the name of 
imperator, 1 with which the soldiers had been wont to salute a 

victorious general. 
Though he abolished 
none of the old repub¬ 
lican forms, the Sen¬ 
ate became simply his 
advisory council, the 
assemblies, his sub¬ 
missive agents, the 
consuls, praetors, and 
tribunes, his pliant tools. The laurel wreath, the triumphal 
dress, the conqueror’s scepter — all proclaimed the autocrat. 

Caesar used his power wisely and well. No massacres or con¬ 
fiscations sullied his victory. He treated his former foes with 
Character of clemency and even with kindness. No sooner was 
Caesar’s rule domestic tranquillity assured than, with restless 
energy, he entered on a series of far-reaching reforms. 

Caesar’s measures sought to remove the economic evils which 
a century of discord had made so manifest. By restricting the 
Reforms at monthly distribution of grain to those actually in 
Rome and in need, he tried to discourage the public charity 
which was making the capital city a paradise for 
the idle and the shiftless. By planning great colonies beyond 
the sea, notably at Corinth and Carthage, he sought to provide 
farms for the landless citizens of Italy. His active mind even 
found time for such matters as the codification of Roman law, 
the construction of great public works, and the improvement of 
the coinage and the calendar. 2 

1 Hence our word “ emperor.” 

2 Before Caesar’s reform (46 B.c.) the Roman year consisted of 12 months and 
355 days. As this lunar year, like that of the Greeks, was shorter than the solar 



The Work of Caesar 


187 


Caesar’s reforms in the provinces had an epoch-making char¬ 
acter. He reduced taxes, lessened the burden of their collection, 
and took into his own hands the appointment of Reformation 
provincial magistrates. Henceforth oppressive of the provin- 
governors and swindling publicans had to expect cia system 
swift, stern punishment from one whose interests included the 
welfare of both citizens and subjects. By granting Roman citi¬ 
zenship to communities in Gaul and Sicily, he indicated his 
purpose, as rapidly as possible, to convert the provincials into 
Romans. It was Caesar’s aim to break down the barriers 
between Rome and her provinces, to wipe out the distinction 
between the conquerors and the conquered. 

Caesar did not live to complete his task. Like that other 
colossal figure, Alexander the Great, he perished before his 
work as a statesman had hardly more than begun. Assass i na - 
On the Ides of March, 44 b.c., he was struck down tion of^ Caesar, 
in the Senate-house by the daggers of a group of 
envious and irreconcilable nobles, headed by Cassius and Bru¬ 
tus. He fell at the foot of Pompey’s statue, pierced with no 
less than twenty-three wounds. His body was burnt on a pyre 
in the Forum, and his friend, Antony, pronounced the funeral 
eulogy. 

In the light of all the possibilities of beneficent government 
which Caesar was revealing, his cowardly murder becomes one 
of the most stupendous follies recorded in history, consequences 
Caesar’s death could not restore the republic. It of Caesar’s 
served only to prolong disorder and strife within 
the Roman state. As Cicero himself said, hearing the news, 
4 ‘The tyrant is dead; the tyranny still lives.” 

year, it had been necessary to intercalate an additional month, of varying length, in 
every alternate year. Caesar adopted the more accurate Egyptian' calendar of 
365 days and instituted the system of leap years. His rearrangement made the year 
11 minutes, 14 seconds too long. By 1582 a.d. this difference had amounted to 
nearly 10 days. Pope Gregory XIII modified the “Julian Calendar” by calling 
Oct. s, 1582, Oct. 15, and continuing the count io days in advance. This “ Grego¬ 
rian Calendar ” was adopted by Great Britain in 1752 a.d. and subsequently by 
other Protestant countries. 


188 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 


64. Antony and Octavian 

The murderers of Caesar called themselves the “liberators” of 
the republic. They thought that all Rome would applaud their 
Antony be- deed, but the contrary was true. The senatorial 
comes Caesar’s order remained lukewarm. The people, instead of 
successor flocking to their support, mourned the loss of a 
friend and benefactor. Soon the conspirators found themselves 
in great peril. Caesar’s friend and lieutenant, Antony, who 
became sole consul after Caesar’s death, quickly made himself 
master of the situation. Brutus and Cassius were forced to 
withdraw to the provinces which had been previously assigned 
to them by Caesar, leaving Antony to rule Rome as his successor. 

Antony’s hope of reigning supreme was soon disturbed by 
the appearance of a new rival. Caesar, in his will, had made 
A rival in the grandnephew, Octavian, 1 his heir. He now 
young Octa- came to Rome to claim the inheritance. In that 
sickly, studious youth people did not at first 
recognize the masterful personality he was soon to exhibit. 
They rather reechoed Cicero’s sentiment that “ the young man 
was to be praised, complimented, and got rid of.” 2 But 
Octavian easily made himSelf a power, winning the populace 
by paying Caesar’s legacies to them and conciliating the sen¬ 
atorial party by siding with it against Antony. Men now be¬ 
gan to talk of Octavian as the destined restorer of the republic. 

Octavian, however, entertained other designs. He had never 
been sincere in his support of the Senate, and the distrustful 
The Second policy of that body soon converted him into an 
Triumvirate, active foe. From fighting Antony, Octavian turned 
to alliance with him. The two antagonists made 
up their differences, and with Lepidus, one of Caesar’s lieuten¬ 
ants, as a third ally, marched on Rome at the head of their 
legions. The city fell again under military rule. The three 
men then united in the Second Triumvirate with full authority 
to govern and reorganize the state. The advent of this new 

1 His name was Octavius, but after his adoption by Caesar he called himself 
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. 2 Cicero, Letters , xix, 20. 


• Antony and Octavian 189 

tyranny was signalized by a butchery almost as bloody as 
Sulla’s. Cicero, who had incurred the hatred of Antony by his 
fiery speeches against him, was the most illustrious victim. 
More than two thousand persons, mainly men of high rank, 
were slain. The triumvirs by this massacre firmly established 
their rule at Rome and in the West. 

In the East, where Brutus and Cassius had gathered a for¬ 
midable force, the triumvirs were not to win without a struggle. 
It took place on the plain of Philippi in Macedonia. Battles of 
The two battles fought there ended in the suicide Philippi, 
of the republican leaders and the dispersal of their 42 B ‘ C * 
troops. This was the last attempt to restore the republic by 
force of arms. 

Though the republic had been overthrown, it remained to be 
seen who would be master of the new empire, Antony or Octa¬ 
vian. The triumvirate lasted for more than ten Division of 
years, but during this period the incompetent the Roman 
Lepidus was set aside by his stronger colleagues. 

The two remaining members then divided between them the 
Roman world. Octavian took Italy and the West; Antony 
took the East, with Alexandria as his capital. 

In the western half of the empire Octavian ruled quietly and 
with success. Men were already congratulating themselves on 
the return of peace under a second Csesar. In Octavian in 
a few years Octavian, from an obscure boy of the West 
eighteen, had grown to be one of the most powerful person¬ 
alities of his age. 

In the eastern half of the empire things did not go so well. 
Antony was clever, but fond of luxury and vice. He had married 
a sister of Octavian, but he soon grew tired of her Antony in 
and put her away for the fascinating Cleopatra. 1 the E 
The Roman world was startled by tidings that she had been 
proclaimed “ queen of kings,” and that to her and her sons had 
been given the richest provinces in the East. It was even 
rumored that Cleopatra, having enslaved Antony with her 
charms, planned to be enthroned as queen at Rome. 

1 See page 185. 


190 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

Antony’s disgraceful conduct aroused the Roman people. 
They w illin gly followed Octavian to a war against one who 
Battle of seemed a national enemy. A naval battle in the 

Actium, bay of Actium, on the coast of Epirus, decided the 

31 B,c * issue. The fight had hardly begun before Cleopatra 
and Antony sailed away, leaving their fleet to take care of itself. 
Octavian pursued the infatuated pair into Egypt. Antony com¬ 
mitted suicide, and Cleopatra, rather than be led a captive in 
a Roman triumph, followed his example. With the death of 
Cleopatra the dynasty of the Ptolemies 1 came to an end. 
Egypt henceforth formed a province of the Roman Empire. 

Octavian, on his return to Rome, enjoyed the honors of a 
three days’ triumph. 2 As the grand parade moved along the 
The triumph Sacred Way through the Forum, and thence to 
of Octavian the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline, men noted 
that the magistrates, instead of heading the procession as was 
the custom, followed in the conqueror’s train. It was a signifi¬ 
cant change. Octavian, not the magistrates of Rome, now 
ruled the Roman world. 

65 . The End of an Epoch 

The republic, indeed, was doomed. A hundred years of dis¬ 
sension and civil warfare proclaimed clearly enough the failure 
Doom of the of the old order. Rome was a city-state suddenly 
republic called to the responsibilities of universal rule. 

Both the machinery of her government and the morals of her 
people were inadequate for so huge a task. The gradual revolu¬ 
tion which changed this Roman city-state into imperial Rome, 
judged by its results, is perhaps the most momentous move¬ 
ment in the annals of mankind. Let-us summarize its course. 

In 133 b.c. Roman society had been corrupted and enfeebled 
as the result of foreign conquests. The supreme power in the 
A century state more and more tended to fall into the hands 
of revolution 0 f a narr0 w oligarchy — the senatorial nobility. 
Its dishonesty and weakness soon led to efforts at reform. The 
attempts of the Gracchi to overthrow the Senate’s position and 

1 See page 127. 2 See page 160. 


igi 


The End of an Epoch 

restore popular sovereignty ended in disaster. Then, in quick 
succession, arose a series of military leaders who aimed to secure 
by the sword what was no longer to be obtained through con¬ 
stitutional and legal means. Marius, a great general but no 
politician, could only break down and destroy. Sulla, a sincere 
but narrow-minded statesman, could do no more than prop up 
the structure — already tottering — of senatorial rule. Pompey 
soon undid that work and left the constitution to become again 
the sport of rival soldiers. Caesar, triumphing over Pompey, 
gained a position of unchallenged supremacy. After Caesar’s 
death, imperial power was permanently restored in the person 
of Octavian. The battle of Actium in 31 b.c. made Octavian 
master of the Roman world. 

But the Romans were not yet an old and worn-out people. 
On the ruins of the old republican order it was still possible to 
build up a new imperial system in which good Thefuture 
government, peace, and prosperity should prevail 
for more than two centuries. During this period Rome per¬ 
formed her real, her enduring, work for civmzation. 


Studies 

1. Write a summary account (500 words) of Roman expansion 264-133 b.c. 
2. On outline maps indicate the possessions of Carthage and Rome at the beginning 
of the First Punic War; at the beginning of the Second Punic War; at the end of 
the Second Punic War. 3. On outline maps indicate the boundaries of the Roman 
world in 133 b.c. and in 31 b.c. and the division into provinces at these dates. 
4. What events are connected with the following places: Zama; Cannae; Actium; 
Pharsalus; and Philippi? 5. Who were Quintus Fabius Maximus, Mithradates, 
Catiline, ’and Cleopatra? 6. Identify the following dates: 146 b.c.; 264 b.c.; 
133 bc.; 201 b.c.; 44 b.c.; and 63 b.c. 7 - Why has Carthage been called the 
“ London” of the ancient world? 8. What is meant by the statement that Carthage 
is a “dumb actor on the stage of history”? 9. Was Rome wise in adopting her new 
policy of expansion beyond the limits of Italy? xo. Give some examples in modern 
times of war indemnities paid by defeated nations. 11. Why did the Romans caU 
the Second Punic War the “War of Hannibal”? 12. What is a Fabian policy ? 
Do you know why Washington was called the “American Fabius ? 13. What 

reasons can you give for Hannibal’s early successes and final failure? 14. Show the 
signal importance to Rome of her control of the sea during the Second Punic War. 
1, Comment on this statement: “As the rise of Rome was central in history, the 
Second Punic War was central in the rise of Rome.” 16. What provinces had been 
formed by 133 b.c. (map facing page 184)? 17- What parts of the world belonged 
to Rome in 133 b.c. but were not yet provinces? 18. Might Rome have extended 


192 The Great Age of the Roman Republic 

her federal policy to her territories outside of Italy? Was a provincial system really 
necessary? 19. Compare a Persian satrapy with a Roman province. 20. Would 
import duties on foreign grain have revived Italian agriculture? 21. Why did the 
cattle breeder in Italy have no reason to fear foreign competition? 22. Compare 
the Athenian practice of state pay with the Roman “bread and the games of the 
circus.” 23. Had the Italians triumphed in the Social War, is it likely they would 
have established a better government than that of Rome? 24. Was Marius or 
was Sulla more to blame for the Civil War? 25. Explain the real meaning of Sulla’s 
“perpetual dictatorship.” 26. Why was the rule of the Senate, unsatisfactory 
though it was, to be preferred to that of the Roman populace? 27. Why is the First 
Triumvirate described as a “ring”? Did it have an official character? 28. Why 
does the First Triumvirate mark a distinct step toward the establishment of the 
empire? 29. Why can wars with barbarous and savage peoples be justified as 
“the most ultimately righteous of all wars”? 30. Can you suggest why Caesar’s 
conquest of Gaul had even greater importance than Pompey’s conquests in the East? 
31. Was Caesar justified in leading his army against Rome? 32. Had Pompey 
triumphed over Caesar, is it probable that the republic would have been restored? 
33. What contrasts can you draw between Caesar and Alexander? 34. Justify 
the aphorism, “In the midst of arms the laws are silent,” by the statements in this 
chapter. 35. How do you account for the failure of the republican institutions of 
Rome ? 



Roman Pontoon Bridge 

A relief from the arch of Trajan at Rome. It shows Roman soldiers crossing the Danube. 








CHAPTER IX 


THE EARLY EMPIRE: THE WORLD UNDER ROMAN RULE, 
31 B.C.-180 A.D.i 


66. Augustus, 31 B.C.-14 A.D. 

The period of two hundred and eleven years, between the ac¬ 
cession of Augustus and the death of Marcus Aurelius, is known 
as the Early Em- „ _ , 

A t, 11 The Early 

pire. As we shall Empire, 31 
now learn, it B-C .-180 
was a time of set¬ 
tled government and of inter¬ 
nal tranquillity. Except for a brief 
period of anarchy at the close of the 
reign of Nero, it was also a time of 
regular succession to the throne. 

Nearly all the emperors were vigorous 
and capable rulers. The peace and 
prosperity which they gave to the Ro¬ 
man world amply justify—if justifi¬ 
cation be needed — the change from 
republic to empire. 

Few persons have set their stamp 
more indelibly on the pages of history 
than Octavian, whom we The new 
may now call by his more ruler 
familiar name Augustus (“Majestic”). 

Augustus was no military genius to 

dazzle the world with his achievements. He was a cool and 
passionless statesman who took advantage of a memorable 

i Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter xix, “The Makers of Imperial 
Rome: Character Sketches by Suetonius”; chapter xx, ‘ Nero, a Roman Emperor. 

193 



Augustus 

Vatican Museum, Rome 







194 


The World under Roman Rule 


opportunity to remake the Roman state, and who succeeded in 
the attempt. Absolute power, which destroys weaker men, 
with Augustus brought out the nobler elements of character. 
From the successful leader of a party he became the wise and 
impartial ruler of an empire. 

Augustus had almost unlimited power. * His position was 
that of a king, as supreme as Julius Caesar had ever been. 
The new Better, however, than Julius Caesar, Augustus 
government realized that an undisguised autocracy would only 
alienate public opinion and invite fresh plots and rebellions, 
Augustus intended to be the real master, but he would also be 
careful to conceal his authority under republican forms. The 
emperor was neither king, dictator, nor triumvir. He called 
himself a republican magistrate— Princeps 1 — the “First 
Citizen” of the state. 

Augustus gave up the externals, only to keep the essentials, 
of royalty. He held the proconsular authority, which extended 
Powers en- over the frontier provinces and their legions. He 
joyed by held the tribunician authority, which made his 
person sacred. As perpetual tribune he could pre¬ 
side over the popular assemblies, manage the Senate and change 
its membership at pleasure, and veto the acts of almost any 
magistrate. In the provinces and at home in the capital city 
the emperor was supreme. 

Augustus ruled a vast realm. In it all the dreams of world 
dominion which Alexander had cherished were more than real- 
The empire i ze d- The empire included nearly the entire circle 
under Augus- of the Mediterranean lands. On the west and 
south it found natural barriers in the Atlantic 
Ocean and the African desert. On the east the Eurphates 
River had formed, since the defeat of Crassus, 2 the dividing 
line between Rome and Parthia. The northern frontier, be¬ 
yond which lay the Germanic barbarians, required, however, 
additional conquests for its protection. 

The Danube River made an admirable boundary for much of 
the Roman territory between the Black Sea and the Rhine. 

1 Hence our word “prince.” 2 See page 184. 






















































25° 


40 ° 


55 ° 


60 ° 


Romanized section of the Empire 

Greek section of the Empire 

Oriental section of the Empire 

Boundary of the Roman Empire at the death of 
Augustus, 14 A. D. 

Important Roman Roads 


X Battlefields (with the year of battle) 
Province names thus: ILLYRIA 


50 



igitade East 25 ° from Greenwich 30 ° 


35 c 


40 ° 


45 







































































































0 































Augustus 


195 


Augustus annexed the district south of the lower course of this 
river and formed it into the province of Mcesia The Danube 
(modern Serbia and Bulgaria). The line of the boundar y 
upper Danube was later secured by the creation of three new 
provinces on the northern slopes of the Alps. 1 Henceforth the 
Balkan peninsula and Italy on the northeast, where the Alpine 
passes are low and comparatively easy, were shielded from 
attack. 

After the conquests of Julius Caesar in Gaul the Rhine had 
become the frontier between that country and Germany. 
Augustus repeatedly sent the legions into western The Rhine 
Germany on punitive expeditions to strike terror boundry 
into its warlike tribes and to inspire respect for Roman power. 
It is doubtful, however, whether he ever intended to conquer 
Germany and to convert it into another province. His failure 
to do so meant that the Germans were not to be Romanized 
as were their neighbors, the Celts of Gaul. The Rhine con¬ 
tinued to be the dividing-line between Roman civilization and 
Germanic barbarism. 

The clash of arms on the distant frontiers scarcely disturbed 
the serenity of the Roman world. Within the boundaries of the 
empire the Augustan Age was an age of peace The Augus- 
and prosperity. The emperor, with unwearied de- ten Age 
votion, turned to the task of ruling wisely and well his vast 
dominions. He followed the example of Julius Caesar in his 
insistence on just government of the provincials. In Italy 
he put down brigandage, repaired the public highways, and 
planted many colonies in unsettled districts. In Rome he es¬ 
tablished a regular police service, organized the supply of grain 
and water, and continued, on a larger scale than ever, the 
public games. So many were his buildings in the capital city 
that he could boast he had “ found Rome of brick and left it 
of marble.” 2 Augustus was also very successful as a religious 
reformer. He restored numerous temples that had fallen into 


1 The provinces of Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia. 

2 For a description of ancient Rome see pages 292-296. 


196 The World under Roman Rule 



decay, revived the ancient sacrifices, and celebrated with pomp 
and majesty the festivals that had been neglected. These 
reforms gave new vigor to the Roman state religion. 

Even during the lifetime of Augustus worship had been offered 
to him by the provincials. After his death the Senate gave him 
Deification of divine honors and enrolled his name among the 
Augustus gods. Temples rose in every province to the dei¬ 
fied Augustus, and altars smoked with sacrifices to him. Em¬ 
peror worship spread rapidly over the ancient world and helped 
























197 


The Successors of Augustus 

to unite all classes in allegiance to the new government. It pro¬ 
vided a universal religion for a universal empire. Yet just at 
the time when this new cult was taking root, and in the midst 
of the happy reign of Augustus, there was born in Bethlehem of 
Judea the Christ whose religion was to overcome the worship 
of the emperors and with it all other faiths of pagan antiquity. 1 

67. The Successors of Augustus, 14-96 A.D. 

For more than half a century following the death of Augustus 
his place was filled by emperors who, either by descent or adop¬ 
tion, claimed kinship with himself and the mighty j u]ian and 
Julius. They are known as the Julian and Clau- ciaudian 
dian Caesars. 2 Though none of these foui princes £*sars> 1 "~ 
had the political ability of Augustus, two of 
them (Tiberius and Claudius) were excellent rulers, who ably 
maintained the standards set by that great emperor. The other 
two (Caligula and Nero) were vicious tyrants, the recital of whose 
follies and crimes occupies much space in the works of ancient 
historians. Their doings and misdoings fortunately exerted lit¬ 
tle influence outside the circle of the imperial court and the capi¬ 
tal city. Rome itself might be disturbed by conspiracy and 
bloodshed, but Italy and the provinces kept their prosperity. 

The reign of Claudius was marked by the beginning of the 
extension of the empire over Britain. For nearly a hundred 
years after Caesar’s expeditions no further attempt conquest of 
had been made to annex that island. But its Britain be-^ 
nearness to Gaul, already thoroughly Romanized, 
brought the country within the sphere of Roman influence. 
The thorough conquest of Britain proved to be no easy task. 
It was not until the close of the first century that the island, as 
far north as the Scottish Highlands, was brought under Roman 
sway. The province of Britannia remained a part of the empire 
for more than three hundred years. 

1 Jesus was bom probably in 4 b.c., the last year of the reign of Herod, whom the 
triumvirs, Antony and Octavian, had placed on the throne of Judea in 37 b.c. 

2 A Roman emperor was generally called “Caesar” by. the provincials.. See, 
for example, Matthew , xxii, 17-21, or Acts, xxv, 10-12. This title survived m the 
German Kaiser and perhaps in the Russian Tsar , or Czar. 


The World under Roman Rule 


198 


During Nero’s reign half of Rome was laid in ashes by a 
great fire, which raged for a week. But a new Rome speedily 
Burning of arose. It was a much finer city than the old, with 

Rome, 64 wide, straight streets instead of narrow alleys, 

and with houses of good stone in place of wooden 
hovels. Except for the loss of the temples and public buildings, 
the fire was a blessing in disguise. 



w»j ■ ■ 




Plan of Jerusalem and its Environs 


After the death of Nero the dynasty that traced its descent 
from Julius and Augustus became extinct. There was no one 
Flavian who could legally claim the vacant throne. The 

Senate, which in theory had the appointment of a 
successor, was too weak to exercise its powers. The 
imperial guard and the legions on the frontiers placed their own 
candidates in the field. The Roman world fell into anarchy, 
and Italy became once more the seat of civil war. The throne 


Caesars, 

69-96 A.D. 















THE PALACES OF THE C^SARS 

A painting by J. M. W. Turner 





•a * 

WK 






I . IB 



















I 

d 


4 > 


> 


<V 

C/3 

03 


5 


§ 




branched golden candlestick. 
















The Successors of Augustus 199 


was finally seized by the able general, Flavius Vespasianus, 
supported by the armies of the East. He and his two sons, 
Titus and Domitian, are called the Flavian Caesars. 



POMPEn 


During the reign of Vespasian a revolt of the Jews was 
crushed, and Jerusalem was captured by Titus, Vespasian’s 
son. It is said, doubtless with exaggeration, that Capture 0 f 
one million Jews perished in the siege, the most Jerusalem, 
awful that history records. The Holy City, to¬ 
gether with the Temple, was destroyed, and a Roman camp was 
pitched upon the spot. We may still see in Rome the splendid 
arch that commemorates this tragic event. 1 

The reign of Titus is chiefly memorable for the destruction of 
Pompeii and Herculaneum, two cites on the bay of Naples. 
After long inactivity the volcano of Vesuvius sud- Erupt i 0 n of 
denly belched forth torrents of liquid lava and Vesuvms, 
mud, followed by a rain of ashes. Pompeii was 
covered to a depth of about fifteen feet by the falling cinders. 
Herculaneum was overwhelmed in a sea of sulphurous mud 
and lava to a depth of eighty feet in many places. The cities 

1 i n I3 i a.d., during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, the Jews once more 
broke out in revolt. Jerusalem, which had risen from its ruins, was again destroyed 
by the Romans, and the plow was passed over the foundations of the Temple. 
From Roman times to the present the Jews have been a people without a country. 


200 


The World under Roman Rule 


were completely entombed, and in time even their location was 
forgotten. Modern excavations have disclosed a large part of 
Pompeii, with its streets, shops, baths, temples, and theaters. 
The visitor there gains a vivid impression of Roman life during 
the first century of our era. 1 


Marcus Aurelius 


68. The “Good Emperors,” 96-180 A.D. 

The five rulers—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and 
whose reigns cover the greater part of the 
The second century, are 

Antonine sometimes called 

Caesars the Antonine Cae¬ 

sars, because two of them bore 
the name Antoninus. They 
are better known as the “Good 
Emperors,” a title which well 
describes them. Under their 
just and beneficent government 
the empire reached its greatest 
prosperity. 

The emperor Trajan rivaled 
Julius Caesar in military ability 
Trajan the and enlarged the 

conqueror Roman world to 

the widest limits it was ever to 
attain. His first conquests were in Europe and resulted in 
the annexation of Dacia, an extensive territory north of the 
Danube. Thousands of colonists settled in Dacia and spread 
everywhere the language and arts of Rome. Its modern name 
(Rumania) bears witness to Rome’s abiding influence there. 
Trajan’s campaigns in Asia had less importance, though in ap¬ 
pearance they were more splendid. He drove the Parthians 
from Armenia and conquered the Tigris-Euphrates valley. To 
hold in subjection such distant regions only increased the diffi¬ 
culty of guarding the frontiers. Trajan’s successor, Hadrian, at 
once abandoned them. 

* See Bulwer-Lytton’s novel, The Last Days of Pompeii. 



Vatican Museum, Rome 

A remarkably fine example of Roman 
portrait statuary. 


The “Good Emperors” 


201 


Hadrian distinguished himself as an administrator. He may 
be compared with Augustus in his love of peace and in his care 
for the interests of the Hadrian the 
provincials. Hadrian administrator 
made two long journeys throughout 
the Roman world. On the frontiers 
he built fortresses and walls’; in 
the provinces he raised baths, 
aqueducts, theaters, and temples. 

Scarcely a city throughout the em¬ 
pire lacked some monument to his 
generosity. Hadrian left behind 
him the memory of a prince whose 
life was devoted to the public 
welfare — the first servant of the 
state. 

The last of the “Good Em¬ 
perors,” Marcus Aurelius, was a 
thinker and a student, Marcus Aa _ 
but he enjoyed little relius, the 
opportunity for medi- “ p ^ ne 
tation. His reign was 
filled with an almost uninterrupted 
series of campaigns against thePar- 
thians on the Euphrates and the 
Germans on the Danube and the 
Rhine. These wars revealed 
the weakness of the frontiers and 
rapidly growing strength of the bar¬ 
barians. After the death of Mar¬ 
cus Aurelius the empire entered on 
its downward course. But before 
passing to this period of our study, we may take a survey of 
the world under Roman rule, during the two centuries between 
Augustus and Marcus Aurelius. 



Column or Trajan 

A bronze statue of Trajan, for¬ 
merly occupying the top of the monu¬ 
ment, has been replaced by a figure of 
St. Peter. The column is decorated 
with a continuous spiral relief repre¬ 
senting scenes from the Dacian War. 
About twenty-five hundred separate 
designs are included in this remark¬ 
able collection. 













202 


The World under Roman Rule 


69. The Provinces of the Roman Empire 

The Roman Empire, at its widest extent in the second cen¬ 
tury, included forty-three provinces. They were protected 
The standing against Germans, Parthians, and other foes by 
army twenty-five legions, numbering, with the auxiliary 

forces, about three thundred thousand men. This standing army 



The Pantheon 


The original building was the work of Agrippa, a minister of Augustus. The 
temple was reconstructed by Hadrian, who left the Greek portico unchanged but 
added the rotunda and the dome. This great dome, the largest in the world, is 
made of solid concrete. During the Middle Ages the Pantheon was converted 
into a church. It is now the burial place of the kings of Italy. 

was one of Rome’s most important agencies for the spread of 
her civilization over barbarian lands. Its membership was 
drawn largely from the border provinces, often from the very 
countries where the soldiers’ camps were fixed. Though the 
army became less and less Roman in blood, it always kept in 
character and spirit the best traditions of Rome. The long 
intervals of peace were not passed by the soldiers in idleness. 
They built the great highways that penetrated every region of 
the empire, spanned the streams with bridges, raised dikes and 
aqueducts, and taught the border races the arts of civilization. 
It was due, finally, to the labors of the legionaries, that the most 







The Provinces of the Roman Empire 203 

exposed parts of the frontiers were provided with an extensive 
system of walls and ramparts. 

The Roman system of roads received its great extension dur¬ 
ing the imperial age. The principal trunk lines began at the 
gates of Rome and radiated thence to every prov- The Roman 
ince. Along these highways sped the couriers of roads 
the Caesars, carrying dispatches and making, by means of relays 



The building was formerly topped by another of smaller size which bore a statue of 
the emperor. In medieval times this stately tomb was converted into a castle. It is now used 
as a museum. The bridge across the Tiber was built by Hadrian. 


of horses, as much as one hundred and fifty miles a day. The 
roads resounded to the tramp of the legionaries passing to their 
stations on the distant frontier. Travelers by foot, horseback, 
or litter journeyed on them from land to land, employing maps 
which described routes and distances. Traders used them for 
the transport of merchandise. Roman roads, in short, were 
the railways of antiquity. 1 

In her roads and fortifications, in the living rampart of her 
legions, Rome long found security. Except for the The pax 
districts conquered by Trajan but abandoned by Romana 
Hadrian, 2 the empire during this period did not lose a province. 

1 See the map on page 205 for the system of Roman roads in Britain. 

* See page 200. 









204 


The World under Roman Rule 



For more than two hundred years, throughout an area as large 
as the United States, the civilized world rested under what an 
ancient writer calls “the immense majesty of the Roman 
peace.” 1 

The grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians after the Social 

War 2 only increased 

Extension for a time 
of Roman the COn- 
citizenship , , , 

trast be¬ 
tween Italy and the 
provinces. But even 
before the fall of the 
republic Caesar’s legis¬ 
lation had begun the 
work of uniting the 
Roman and the pro¬ 
vincial. 3 More and 
more the emperors fol¬ 
lowed in his footsteps. 
The extension of Ro¬ 
man citizenship was a 
gradual process cover¬ 
ing two centuries. It 
was left for the em¬ 
peror Caracalla, early 
in the third century, 
to take the final step. 
In 212 a.d. he issued an edict which bestowed citizen¬ 
ship on all freeborn inhabitants of the empire. This famous 
edict completed the work, begun so many centuries before, of 
Romanizing the ancient world. 

The grant of citizenship, though it increased the burden 
of taxation, brought no slight advantage to 
those who possessed it. A Roman citizen could 
not be maltreated with impunity or punished with¬ 
out a legal trial before Roman courts. If accused in a capital 

1 Pliny, Natural History, xxvii, i.' 2 See page 179. 1 See page 187. 


Marcus Aurelius in His Triumphal Car 

Palace of the Conservatori, Rome 
A panel from an arch erected by the emperor. 


Privileges of 
Roman 
citizens 
























The Provinces of the Roman Empire 


205 

































206 


The World under Roman Rule 


case, he could always protect himself against an unjust decision 
by an “appeal to Caesar”; that is, to the emperor at Rome. 
St. Paul did this on one occasion when on trial for his life. 1 



Wall or Hadrian in Britain 

The wall extended between the Tyne and the Solway, a distance of seventy miles. It 
was built of concrete, faced with square blocks. The height is nearly twenty feet; the thick¬ 
ness, about eight feet. Along the wall were numerous towers and gates, and a little to the 
north of it stretched an earthen rampart protected by a deep ditch. A broad road, lined with 
seventeen military camps, ran between the two fortifications. 


Wherever he lived, a Roman citizen enjoyed, both for his person 
and his property, the protection of Roman law. 


70. The Roman Law and the Latin Language 

The Romans were the most legal-minded people of antiquity. 
It was their mission to give laws to the world. Almost at the 
Improve- beginning of the republic they framed the code of 
ment of the Twelve Tables, 2 which long remained the basis 
Roman law Q f jurisprudence. This code, however, was 

so harsh, technical, and brief that it could not meet the needs 
of a progressive state. The Romans gradually improved their 
legal system, especially after they began to rule over conquered 
nations. The disputes which arose between citizens and sub¬ 
jects were decided by the praetors or provincial governors in 
accordance with what seemed to them to be principles of 
justice and equity. These principles gradually found a place in 


1 See Acts, xxv, 9-12. 


2 See page 151. 


The Roman Law and the Latin Language 207 

Roman law, together with many rules and observances of for¬ 
eign peoples. Roman law in this way tended to take over and 
absorb all that was best in ancient jurisprudence. 

Thus, as the extension of the citizenship carried the principles 
and practice of Roman law to every quarter of the empire, the 
spirit of that law underwent an entire change. Character of 
It became exact, impartial, liberal, humane. It Roman law 
limited the use of torture to force confession from persons 
accused of crime. It protected the child against a father’s 
tyranny. It provided that a master who killed a slave should 
be punished as a murderer, and even taught that all men are 
originally free by the law of nature and therefore that slavery is 
contrary to natural right. Justice it defined as “the steady 
and abiding purpose to give every man that which is his own.” 1 
Roman law, which began as the rude code of a primitive people, 
ended as the most refined and admirable system of jurisprudence 
ever framed by man. This law, as we shall see later, has passed 
from ancient Rome to modern Europe. 2 

The conquest by Latin of the languages of the world is almost 
as interesting and important a story as the conquest by Rome 
of the nations of the world. At the beginning of Latin in 
Roman history Latin was the 'speech of only the Italy 
people of Latium. Beyond the limits of Latium Latin came 
into contact with the many different languages spoken in early 
Italy. Some of them, such as Greek and Etruscan, soon dis¬ 
appeared from Italy after Roman expansion, but those used by 
native Italian peoples showed more power of resistance. It was 
not until the last century b.c. that Latin was thoroughly estab¬ 
lished in the central and southern parts of the peninsula. After 
the Social War the Italian peoples became citizens of Rome, 
and with Roman citizenship went the use of the Latin tongue. 

The Romans carried their language to the barbarian peoples 
of the West, as they had carried it to Italy. Their Latin in the 
missionaries were colonists, merchants, soldiers, westem^ 
and public officials. The Latin spoken by them provmces 
was eagerly taken up by the rude, unlettered natives, who tried 

1 Institutes , bk. i, tit. i. ' 2 See page 331. 


208 


The World under Roman Rule 


to make themselves as Roman as possible in dress, customs, 
and speech. This provincial Latin was not simply the language 
of the upper classes; the common people themselves used it 
freely, as we know from thousands of inscriptions found in 
western and central Europe. In the countries which now make 
up Spain, France, Switzerland, southern Austria, England, and 
North Africa, the old national tongues were abandoned for the 
Latin of Rome. 

The decline of the Roman Empire did not bring about the 
downfall of the Latin language in the West. It became the 
Romance basis of the so-called Romance languages — 
languages French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ru¬ 
manian — which arose in the Middle Ages out of the spoken 
Latin of the common people. Even our English language, 
which comes to us from the speech of the Germanic invaders 
of Britain, contains so many words of Latin origin that we can 
scarcely utter a sentence without using some of them. The 
rule of Rome has passed away; the language of Rome still 
remains to enrich the intellectual life of mankind. 

71. The Municipalities of the Roman Empire 

The world under Roman rule was a world of cities. Some 
had earlier been native settlements, such as those in Gaul 
Prevalence of before the Roman conquest. Others were the 
city life splendid Hellenistic cities in the East. 1 Many 
more were of Roman origin, arising from the colonies and 
fortified camps in which citizens and soldiers had settled. 2 
Where Rome did not find cities, she created them. 

Not only were the cities numerous, but many of them, even 
when judged by modern standards, reached great size. Rome 
Some impor- was the largest, her population being estimated at 
tant cities f rom one to tw0 millions. Alexandria came next 
with more than half a million people. Syracuse was the third 
metropolis of the empire. Italy contained such important towns. 

1 See page 127. 

2 Several English cities, such as Lancaster, Leicester, Manchester, and Chester, 
betray in their names their origin in the Roman castra, or camp. 


The Municipalities of the Roman Empire 209 

as Verona, Milan, and Ravenna. In Gaul were Marseilles, 
Nimes, Bordeaux, Lyons — all cities with a continuous existence 
to the present day. In Britain York and London were seats 
of commerce, Chester and Lincoln were military colonies, and 
Bath was celebrated then, as now, for its medicinal waters. 
Carthage and Corinth had risen in new splendor from their ashes. 
Athens was still the home of Greek art and Greek culture, 



Roman Baths, at Bath, England 


Bath, the ancient Aquae Sulis, was famous in Roman times for its hot springs. Here 
are very interesting remains, including a large pool, eighty-three by forty feet in size, ana 
lined at the bottom with the Roman lead, besides smaller bathing chambers and portions of 
the ancient pipes and conduits. The building and statues are modem restorations. 

Asia included such ancient and important centers as Pergamum, 
Smyrna, Ephesus, Rhodes, and Antioch. The student who 
reads in his New Testament the Acts of the Apostles will get a 
vivid impression of some of these great capitals. 

Every municipality was a Rome in miniature. It had its 
forum and senate-house, its temples, theaters, and baths, its 
circus for racing, and its amphitheater for gladia- Appearance 
torial combats. Most of the municipalities enjoyed of the Clties 
an abundant supply of water, and some had good sewer systems. 












210 


The World under Roman Rule 


The larger towns had well-paved, though narrow, streets. 
Pompeii, a small place of scarcely thirty, thousand inhabitants, 
still exists to give us an idea of the appearance of one of these 
ancient cities. And what we find at Pompeii was repeated on a 
more splendid scale in hundreds of places from the Danube to 
the Nile, from Britain to Arabia. 

The municipalities of Roman origin copied the government 
of Rome itself. 1 Each city had a council, or senate, and a popuq 
City govern- lar a ssembly which chose the magistrates. These 
ment officials were generally rich men; they received no 

salary, and in fact had to pay a large sum on entering office. 
Local politics excited the keenest interest. Many of the inscrip¬ 
tions found on the walls of Pompeii are election placards recom¬ 
mending particular candidates for office. Women sometimes took 
part in political contests. Distributions of grain, oil, and money 
were made to needy citizens, in imitation of the bad Roman prac¬ 
tice. There were public banquets, imposing festivals, wild-beast 
hunts, and bloody contests of gladiators, like those at Rome. 

The busy, throbbing life in these countless centers of the 
Roman world has long since been stilled. The cities themselves, 
Survival of the in man y instances, have utterly disappeared. Yet 
Roman munic- the forms of municipal government, together with 
ipai system ^ Roman idea of a free, self-governing city, never 
wholly died out. Some of .the most important cities which flour¬ 
ished in southern and western Europe during the later Middle 
Ages preserved clear traces of their ancient Roman origin. 

72. Economic and Social Conditions in the First and 
Second Centuries 

The first two centuries of our era formed the golden age of 
Roman commerce. The emperors fostered it in many ways. 
Promotion of Augustus and his successors kept the Mediterra- 
commerce nean f ree f rom pi ra t e s, built lighthouses and im¬ 
proved harbors, policed the highways, and made travel by land 
both speedy and safe. An imperial currency 2 replaced the vari- 

1 See page 149. 

2 For illustrations of Roman coins see the plate facing page 134. 


Economic and Social Conditions 211 

ous national coinages with their limited circulation. The vexa¬ 
tious import and export duties, levied by different countries and 
cities on foreign produce, were swept away. Free trade flour¬ 
ished between the cities and provinces of the Roman world. 

Roman commerce followed, in general, the routes which 
Phoenicians had dis¬ 
covered Principal 
centU- trade routes 

ries before. After 
the annexation of 
Gaul the rivers of 
that country became 
channels of trade 
between western 
Europe and Italy. 

The conquest of the 
districts north and 
south of the Danube 
opened up an im¬ 
portant route be¬ 
tween central Europe 
and the Mediterra¬ 
nean. Imports from 
the far eastern coun¬ 
tries came by cara¬ 
van through Asia to is steered by a pair of huge paddles. 

ports on the Black 

Sea. The water routes led by way of the Persian Gulf to the 
great Syrian cities of Antioch and Palmyra and, by way of the 
Red Sea, to Alexandria on the Nile. From these thriving com¬ 
mercial centers products were shipped to every region of the 
empire. 

The importation and disposal of foreign goods at Rome fur¬ 
nished employment for many thousands of traders. Local trading 
There were great wholesale merchants whose ware- at Rome 
houses stored grain and all kinds of merchandise. There were 











212 


The World under Roman Rule 


also many retail shopkeepers. They might be sometimes the 
slaves or freedmen of a wealthy noble who preferred to keep 
in the background. Sometimes they were men of free birth. 
The feeling that petty trade was unworthy of a citizen, though 
strong in republican days, tended to disappear under the empire. 

The slaves at Rome, like those at Athens, 1 carried on many 
industrial tasks. We must not imagine, however, that all the 
Free laborers manual labor of the city was performed by bond- 
men. The number of slaves even tended to de¬ 
cline, when there were no more border wars to yield, captives 
for the slave markets. The growing custom of emancipation 
worked in the same direction. We find in this period a large 
body of free laborers, not only in the capital city, but in all 
parts of the empire. 

The workmen engaged in a particular calling frequently 
formed clubs, or guilds. 2 There were guilds of weavers, shoe- 
The guilds ma kers, jewelers, painters, musicians, and even of 
gladiators. These associations were not organized 
for the purpose of securing higher wages and shorter hours by 
strikes or threat of strikes. They seem to have existed chiefly 
for social and religious purposes. Each guild had its clubhouse 
for official meetings and banquets. Each guild had its special 
deity, such as Vesta, the fire goddess, for bakers, and Bacchus, 
the wine god, for innkeepers. Every year the guildsmen held a 
festival, in honor of their patron, and marched through the 
streets with banners and the emblems of their trade. Nearly 
all the guilds had as one main object the provision of a proper 
funeral and tomb for deceased members. The humble laborer 
found some consolation in the thought that he belonged to a 
club of friends and fellow workers, who after death would give 
him decent burial and keep his memory green. 

Free workingmen throughout the Roman world appear to 
Life Of the have led reasonably happy lives. They were not 

classes** driven or enslaved by their employers or forced to 

labor for long hours in grimy, unwholesome fac¬ 
tories. Slums existed, but no sweatshops. If wages were low, 

1 See page 107. * Latin collegia, whence our “college.” 



Economic and Social Conditions 213 

so also was the cost of living. Wine, oil, and wheat flour were 
cheap. The mild climate made heavy clothing unnecessary 
and permitted an outdoor life. The public baths — great club¬ 
houses — stood open to every one who could pay a trifling 
fee. 1 Numerous holidays, celebrated with games and shows, 
brightened existence. On the whole we may conclude that 



A Roman Villa 

Wall painting, Pompeii 


working people at Rome and in the provinces enjoyed greater 
comfort during this period than had ever been their lot in 
previous ages. 

It was an age of millionaires. There had been rich men, such 
as Crassus, 2 during the last century of the republic; their 
numbers increased and their fortunes rose during Great fortunes 
the first century of the empire. The philosopher 
Seneca, a tutor of Nero, is said to have made twelve million 
dollars within four years by the emperor’s favor. Narcissus, 
the secretary of Claudius, made sixteen million dollars the 
largest Roman fortune on record. This sum must be multi¬ 
plied four or five times to find its modern equivalent, since in 
antiquity interest rates were higher and the purchasing power 
of money was greater than to-day. Such private fortunes are 
surpassed only by those of the present age. 

The heaping-up of riches in the hands of a few brought its 

i See pages 263 and 285. 2 See page 183. 













214 


The World under Roman Rule 


natural consequence in luxury and extravagance. The palaces 
Luxury and of the wealthy, with their gardens, baths, picture 
extravagance galleries, and other features, were costly to build 
and costly to keep up. The money not lavished by a noble on 
his town house could be easily sunk on his villas in the country. 
All Italy, from the bay of Naples to the foot of the Alps, was 
dotted with elegant residences, having flower gardens, game 
preserves, fishponds, and artificial lakes. Much senseless waste 
occurred at banquets and entertainments. Vast sums were 
spent on vessels of gold and silver, jewelry, clothing, and house 
furnishings. Even funerals and tombs required heavy outlays. 
A capitalist of-imperial Rome could get rid of a fortune in sel¬ 
fish indulgences almost as readily as any modern millionaire 
not blessed with a refined taste or with public spirit. 

Some of the customs of the time appear especially shocking. 
The brutal gladiatorial games 1 were a passion with every one, 
Some social from the emperor to his lowest subject. Infan ti- 
eviis tide was a general practice. Marriage grew to be 

a mere civil contract, easily made and easily broken. Common 
as divorce had become, the married state was regarded as un¬ 
desirable. Augustus vainly made laws to encourage matri¬ 
mony and discourage celibacy. Suicide, especially among the 
upper classes, was astonishingly frequent. No one questioned 
another’s right to leave this life at pleasure. The decline of 
the earlier paganism left many men without ‘a deep religious 
faith to combat the growing doubt and worldliness of the age. 

Yet this dark picture needs correction at many points. It 
may be questioned whether the vice, luxury, and wickedness 
Brighter as- anc i ent Rome, Antioch, or Alexandria much ex¬ 
pects of Ro- ceeded what our great modern capitals can show, 
man society j) ur j n g this period, moreover, many remarkable 
improvements took place in social life and manners. There was 
an increasing kindliness and charity. The weak and the infirm 
were better treated. The education of the poor was encouraged 
by the founding of free schools. Wealthy citizens of the various 
towns lavished their fortunes on such public works as baths, 

1 See page 267. 


The Graeco-Roman World 


215 


aqueducts, and temples, for the benefit of all classes. Even the 
slaves were much better treated. Imperial laws aimed to 
check the abuses of cruelty, overwork, and neglect, and 
philosophers recommended to masters the exercise of gentle¬ 
ness and mercy toward slaves. In fact, the first and second 
centuries of our era were marked by a great growth of the 
humanitarian spirit. 

73. The Graeco-Roman World 

Just as the conquests of Alexander, by uniting the Orient to 
Greece, produced a Graeco-Oriental civilization, so The new cos- 
now the expansion of Rome over the Mediterranean mopolitamsm 
formed another world-wide culture, in which both Greek and 



A Roman Temple 


The best preserved of Roman temples. Located at Nimes in southern France, where it 
h, known as La Maison Carree (“ the square house”). The structure is now used as a museum 
of antiquities. 

Roman elements met and mingled. A new sense of cosmopoli¬ 
tanism arose in place of the old civic or national patriotism. 

This cosmopolitan feeling was the outcome of those unifying 
and civilizing forces which the imperial system set unifying and 
at work. The extension of Roman citizenship civilizing 
broke down the old distinction between the citi¬ 
zens and the subjects of Rome. The development of Roman 




































2 l 6 


The World under Roman Rule 


law carried its principles of justice and equity to the remotest 
regions. The spread of the Latin language provided the west¬ 
ern half of the empire with a speech as universal there as Greek 
was in the E ast. Trade and travel united the provinces with 
one another and with Rome. The worship of the Caesars 
dimmed the luster of all local worships and kept constantly 



The Amphitheater at Arles 


The amphitheater at Arles in southern France was used during the Mid¬ 
dle Ages as a fortress, then as a prison, and finally became the resort of crimi¬ 
nals and paupers. The illustration shows it before the removal of the 
buildings, about 1830 a.d. Bullfights still continue in the arena, where, in 
Roman times, animal-baitings and gladiatorial games took place. 


before men’s minds the idea of Rome and of her mighty emper¬ 
ors. Last, but not least important, was the fusion of alien 
peoples through intermarriage with Roman soldiers and colo¬ 
nists. “How many settlements,” exclaims the philosopher 
Seneca, “have been planted in every province! Wherever the 
Roman conquers, there he dwells.” 1 
The best evidence of Rome’s imperial rule is found in the 
monuments she raised in every quarter of the Monuments 
ancient world. Some of the grandest ruins of an- of Roman 
tiquity are not in the capital city itself, or even rule 
in Italy, but in Spain, France, England, Greece, Switzerland, 

1 Seneca, Minor Dialogues, xi, 7. 






The Graeco-Roman World 


217 


Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa. Among these are Ha¬ 
drian’s Wall in Britain, the splendid aqueduct known as the 
Pont du Gard near Nimes in southern France, the beautiful 
temple called La Maison Carree in the same city, the Olym- 
pieum at Athens, and the temple of the Sun at Baalbec in Syria. 
Thus the lonely hilltops, the desolate desert sands, the moun¬ 
tain fastnesses of three continents bear witness even now to 
the widespreading sway of Rome. 



A Megalith at Baalbec 


A block of stone, 68 feet long, 10 feet high, and weighing about 1500 tons. It is still 
attached to its bed in the quarry, not far from the ruins of Baalbec in Syria. The temples of 
Baalbec, seen in the distance, were built by the Romans in the third century a.d. The majestic 
temple of the Sun contains three megaliths almost as huge as the one represented in the 1 lus¬ 
tration. They are the largest blocks known to have been used in any structure. For a long 
time they were supposed to be relics of giant builders. 

The civilized world took on the stamp and impress of Rome. 
The East, indeed, remained Greek in language and feeling, but 
even there Roman law and government prevailed, n om anization 
Roman roads traced their unerring course, and ^. e E “ tand 
Roman architects erected majestic monuments. 

The West became completely Roman. North Africa, Spain, 
Gaul, distant Dacia, and Britain were the seats of populous 
cities, where the Latin language was spoken and Roman cus¬ 
toms were followed. From them came the emperors. They 
furnished some of the most eminent men of letters. Their 



2 l8 


The World under Roman Rule 


schools of grammar and rhetoric attracted students from Rome 
itself. Thus unconsciously, but none the less surely, local 
habits and manners, national religions and tongues, provincial 
institutions and ways of thinking disappeared from the ancient 
world. 

Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the additions to Roman territory: during the reign 
of Augustus, 31 B.C.— 14 a.d.; during the period 14-180 a.d. 2. On an outline 
map indicate ten important cities of the Roman Empire. 3 . Connect the proper 
events with the following dates: 79 A.D.; 180 A.D.; and 14 a.d. 4. Whom do you 
consider the greater man, Julius Caesar or Augustus? Give reasons for your 
answer. 5. Compare the Augustan Age at Rome with the Age of Pericles at Athens. 
6 . What is the Monumentum Ancyranum and its historic importance (illustration, 
page 196)? 7. How did the worship of the Caesars connect itself with ancestor 
worship? 8 . In the reign of what Roman emperor was Jesus bom? In whose 
reign was he crucified? 9. How did the “year of anarchy” after Nero’s death 
exhibit a weakness in the imperial system? 10. How many provinces existed 
under Trajan? ix. What modem countries are included within the limits of 
the Roman Empire in the age of Trajan? 12. Compare the extent of the 
Roman Empire under Trajan with (a) the empire of Alexander; and ( 6 ) the 
empire of Darius. 13. Give the Roman names of Spain, Italy, Gaul, Germany, 
Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. 14. Contrast the Roman armies under the empire 
with the standing armies of modern Europe. 15. Trace on the map, page 205, 
the Roman roads in Britain. 16. “To the Roman city the empire was political 
death; to the provinces it was the beginning of new life.” Co mm ent on this state¬ 
ment. 17 . Why should Rome have made a greater success of her imperial policy 
than either Athens or Sparta? 18. Compare Roman liberality in extending the 
franchise with the similar policy displayed by the United States. 19. Compare the 
freedom of trade between the provinces of the Roman Empire with that between 
the states of the American Union. 20. Compare as civilizing forces the Roman and 
the Persian empires. 21. What was the Pax Romana? What is the Pax Britan- 
nica? 22. Compare the Romanization of the ancient world with that process of 
Americanization which is going on in the United States to-day. 23. Explain this 
statement: “The Roman Empire is the lake in which all the streams of ancient 
history lose themselves and which all the streams of modern history flow out of.” 
24. “ Republican Rome had little to do, either by precept or example, with the mod¬ 
ern life of Europe, Imperial Rome everything.” Can you justify this statement? 


CHAPTER X 


THE LATER EMPIRE: CHRISTIANITY IN THE ROMAN 
WORLD, 180-395 A.D. 


74. The “Soldier Emperors,” 180-284 A.D. 

The period called the Later Empire covers the two hundred 

and fifteen years from the accession of Commodus to the final 

division of the Roman world at the death of The Later 

Theodosius. It formed, in general, a period of Empire, 180 - 
, 395 A.D. 

decline. The very existence of the empire was 

threatened, both from within and from without. The armies 
on the frontiers often set up their favorite leaders as contestants 
for the throne, thus provoking civil war. Ambitious governors 
of distant provinces sometimes revolted against a weak or 
unpopular emperor and tried to establish independent states. 
The Germans took advantage of the unsettled condition of 
affairs to make constant inroads. About the middle of the 
third century it became necessary to surrender to them the 
great province of Dacia, which Trajan had won. 1 A serious 
danger also appeared in the distant East. Here the Persians, 
having overcome the Parthians, 2 endeavored to recover from 
Roman hands the Asiatic provinces which had once belonged 
to the old Persian realm. Though the Persians failed to make 
any permanent conquest of Roman territory, their constant at¬ 
tacks weakened the empire at the very time when the northern 
barbarians had again become a menace. 

The rulers who occupied the throne during the first half of 
this troubled period are commonly known as the “ Soldier 
Emperors,” because so many of them owed their “imperial 
position to the swords of the legionaries. Em- p 
peror after emperor followed in quick succession, to enjoy a 
brief rei<m and then to perish in some sudden insurrection. 


1 See page 200. 


2 See pages 184, 194. 


219 


220 


The Later Empire 


Within a single year (237-238 a.d.) six rulers were chosen, wor¬ 
shiped, and then murdered by their troops. “ You little know,” 
said one of these imperial phantoms, “ what a poor thing it is 
to be an emperor.” 



The close of the third century thus found the empire engaged 
in a struggle for existence. No part of the Roman world had 
Political situ- esca P ed the ravages of war. The fortification of 
ation in 284 the capital city by the emperor Aurelian was 
itself a testimony to the altered condition of affairs. 
The situation was'desperate, yet not hopeless. Under an able 
ruler, such as Aurelian, Rome proved to be still strong enough 
to repel her foes. It was the work of the even more capable 
Diocletian to establish the empire so solidly that it endured 
for another hundred years. 

75. The “ Absolute Emperors,” 284-395 A.D. 

Diocletian, whose reign is one of the most illustrious in Roman 
history, entered the army as a common soldier, rose to high 
























THE ANTIOCH CHALICE 


(International copyright by Konchakji Freres, New York) 

In 1910 a.d., Arabs at Antioch in Syria excavated a silver chalice, about eight inches in 
height, which seems to date from the first century of our era. It probably formed a part of 
church treasure. This object is of extraordinary interest, for many, if not all, of the figures 
of the disciples adorning it are considered to be actual portraits and to have been made when 
most of the personages represented were alive. The illustration above shows Christ the 
Saviour (center), with St. Peter (left) and St. Paul (right). 























The “Absolute Emperors” 


221 


command, and fought his way to the throne. A strong, am¬ 
bitious man, Diocletian resolutely set himself to « • , 

the task of remaking the Roman government. His cietian, 284- 
success in this undertaking entitles him to rank, as 305 A,D * 
a statesman and administrator, with Augustus. 

The reforms of Diocletian were meant to remedy those weak¬ 
nesses in the imperial system disclosed by the disasters of the 
preceding century. In the first place, experience Wea knesses 
showed that the empire was unwieldy. There were in the im- 
the distant frontiers on the Rhine, Danube, and penal system 
Euphrates to be guarded; there were all the provinces to be 
governed. A single ruler, however able agd energetic, had more 
than he could do. In the second place^ the succession to the 
imperial throne was uncertain. Now an emperor named his 
successor, now the Senate elected him, and now the swords of 
the legionaries raised him to the purple. Such an unsettled 
state of affairs constantly invited those struggles between rival 
pretenders which had so nearly brought the empire to de¬ 
struction. 

Diocletian began his reforms by adopting a scheme for “part¬ 
nership emperors.” He shared the Roman world with a trusted 
lieutenant named Maximian.> Each was to be an Diocletian’s 
Augustus , with all the honors of an emperor. reforms 
Diocletian ruled the East; Maximian ruled the West. Further 
partnership soon seemed advisable, and so each Augustus chose 
a younger associate, or Casar , to aid him in the government and 
at his death or abdication to become his heir. Diocletian also 
remodeled the provincial system. The entire empire, including 
Italy, was divided into more than one hundred provinces. 
They were grouped into thirteen dioceses and these, in turn, 
into four prefectures. 1 This reform much lessened the author¬ 
ity of the provincial governor, who now ruled over a small 
district and had to obey the vicar of his diocese. 

The emperors, from Diocletian onward, were autocrats. 

i The number and arrangement of these divisions varied somewhat during the 
fourth century. See the map on page 220 for the system as it existed about 
395 a.d. 


222 


The Later Empire 

They bore the proud title of Dominus (“Lord”)- They were 
The new ab- treated as gods. Everything that touched their 
solutism persons was sacred. They wore a diadem of pearls 
and gorgeous robes of silk and gold, like those of Asiatic mon- 
archs. They filled their palaces with a crowd of fawning, flat¬ 
tering nobles, and busied themselves with an endless round of 
stately and impressive ceremonials. Hitherto a Roman em¬ 
peror had been an imperator , 1 the head of an army. Now he 
became a king, to be greeted, not with the old military salute, 
but with the bent knee and the prostrate form of adoration. 
Such pomps and vanities, which former Romans would have 
thought degrading, helped to inspire reverence among the 
servile subjects of a later age. If it was the aim of Augustus to 
disguise, it was the aim of Diocletian to display, the un¬ 
bounded power of a Roman emperor. 

There can be little doubt that Diocletian’s reforms helped to 

prolong the existence of the empire. In one respect, however, 

Constantine, the y must be pronounced a failure. They did not 

sole emperor, end the disputes about the succession. Onlv two 
324-337 AD J 

years after the abdication of Diocletian there were 

six rival pretenders for the title of Augustus. Their dreary 

struggles continued, until at length two emperors were left — 

Constantine in the West, Licinius in the East.^ After a few 

years of joint rule another civil war made Constantine supreme. 

The Roman world again had a single master. 

Constantine was an able general and a wise statesman. Two 
events of lasting importance have made his reign memorable. 
Reign of Con- It was Constantine who recognized Christianity 
stantme as one 0 f the religions of the empire and thus 
paved the way for the triumph of that faith over the ancient 
paganism. His work in this connection will be discussed pres¬ 
ently. It was Constantine, also, who established a new capital 
for the Roman world at Byzantium 2 on the Bosporus. He 
christened it “New Rome,” but it soon took the emperor’s 
name as Constantinople, the “City of Constantine.” 3 

3 See the map, page 340 . 


1 See page 186 . 
* See page 88 . 


The ‘'Absolute Emperors” 


223 


Several good reasons could be urged for the removal of the 
world’s metropolis from the Tiber to the Bosporus. The Roman 
Empire was ceasing to be one empire. (Constan- F 0un <iation of 
tine wanted a great city for the eastern half to Constanti- 
balance Rome in the western half. Again, Con- nople 
stantinople, far more than Rome, was the military center of 
the empire. , Rom e lay too far from the vulnerable frontiers; 
Constantinople occupied a position about equidistant from the 
Germans on the lower Danube and the Persians on the Eu¬ 
phrates. Finally, Constantine believed that Christianity, 
which he wished to become the prevailing religion, would en¬ 
counter less opposition and criticism in his new city than at 
Rome, with its pagan atmosphere and traditions. Constan¬ 
tinople was to be not simply a new seat of government but also 
distinctively a Christian capital. Such it remained for more 
than eleven centuries. 1 

After the death of Constantine the Roman world again 
entered on a period of disorder. The inroads of the Germans 
across the Danube and the Rhine threatened the After Con _ 
European provinces of the empire with dissolu- stantme, 337- 
tion. The outlook in the Asiatic provinces, over- 395 A,D * 
run by the Persians, was no less gloomy. Meanwhile the east¬ 
ern and western halves of the empire tended more and more 
to grow apart. The separation between the two had become 
well marked by the close of the fourth century. After the 
death of the emperor Theodosius (395 a.d.) there came to 
be in fact, if not in name, a Roman Empire in the East and 
a Roman Empire in the West. 

More than four hundred years had now elapsed since the 
battle of Actium made Octavian supreme in the Roman world. 
If we except the abandonment of Trajan’s con- Politica i s i tu - 
quests beyond the Danube and the Euphrates, 2 ation in 395 
no part of the huge empire had as yet succumbed 
to its enemies. The subject peoples, during these four centu¬ 
ries, had not tried to overthrow the empire or to withdraw from 

1 Until the capture of the city by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 a.d. 

2 See pages 200 , 219 . 



224 


The Later Empire 


its protection. The Roman state, men believed, would endure 
forever. Yet the times were drawing nigh when the old order 
of things was to be broken up; when barbarian invaders were 
to seize the fairest provinces as their own; and when new king¬ 
doms, ruled by men of Germanic speech, were to arise in lands 
that once obeyed Rome. 


76. Economic and Social Conditions in the Third 
and Fourth Centuries 

Rome, it has been said, was not built in a day; the rule of 
Rome was not destroyed in a day. When we speak of the “fall” 
The “fall” of Rome, we have in mind, not a violent catas- 
of Rome trophe which suddenly plunged the civilized world 

into ruin, but rather the slow and gradual decay of ancient 
society throughout the basin of the Mediterranean. This 
decay set in long before the Germans and the Persians be¬ 
came a serious danger to the empire. It would have con¬ 
tinued, doubtless, had there been no Germans and Persians 
to break through the frontiers and destroy. The truth seems 
to be that, during the third and fourth centuries of our era, 
classical civilization, like an overtrained athlete, had grown 
“stale.” 

It is not possible to set forth all the forces which centpry 
after century had been sapping the strength of the state. The 
Depopulation most obvious element of weakness was the want 
of men to fill the armies and to cultivate the fields—. 
The slave system seems to have been partly re¬ 
sponsible for this depopulation. The peasant on his little 
homestead could not compete with the wealthy noble whose 
vast estates were worked by gangs of slaves. The artisan 
could not support himself and his family on the pittance that 
kept his slave competitor alive. Peasants and artisans grad¬ 
ually drifted into the cities, where the public distributions of 
grain, wine, and oil assured them of a living with little expense 
and almost without exertion. In both Italy and the provinces 
there was a serious decline in the number of free farmers 
and free workingmen. 


due to the 
slave system 


Economic and Social Conditions 


225 

But slavery was not the only cause of depopulation. There 
was a great deal of what has been called “race suicide” in the 
old Roman world. Well-to-do people, who could “Race 
easily support large families, often refused to be suicide” 
burdened with them. Childlessness, however, was not confined 
to the wealthy, since the poorer classes, crowded in the huge 
lodging houses of the cities, had no real family life. Roman 
emperors, who saw how difficult it was to get a sufficient num¬ 
ber of recruits for the army, and how whole districts were going 
to waste for lack of people to cultivate them, tried to repopu¬ 
late the empire by force of law. They imposed penalties for the 
childlessness and celibacy of the rich, and founded institutions 
for the rearing of children, that the poor might not fear to raise 
large families. Such measures were scarcely successful. “Race 
suicide” continued during pagan times and even during the 
Christian age. 

The next most obvious element of weakness was the shrinkage 
of the revenues. The empire suffered from want of money, as 
well as from want of men. To meet the heavy cost Loss of 
of the luxurious court, to pay the salaries of the revenues 
swarms of public officials, to support the idle populace in the 
great cities required a vast annual income. But just when 
public expenditures were rising by leaps and bounds, it became 
harder and harder to secure sufficient revenue, ^mailer num¬ 
bers meant fewer taxpayers. Fewer taxpayers meant a heavier 
burden on those who survived to pay. 

These two forces — the decline in population and the decline in 
wealth — worked together to produce economic ruin. It is no 
wonder, therefore, that in province after province Economic 
large tracts of land went out of cultivation, that Tum 
the towns decayed, and that commerce and manufactures 
suffered an appalling decline. “Hard times” settled on the 
Roman world. 

Doubtless still other forces were at work to weaken the 
state and make it incapable of further resistance influence of 
to the barbarians. Among such forces we must Christianity 
'reckon Christianity itself. By the close of the fourth century 


226 


The Later Empire 


Christianity had become the religion of the empire. The new 
faith, as we shall soon see, helped, not to support, but 
rather to undermine, pagan society. 

77. The Preparation for Christianity 

Several centuries before the rise of Christainity many Greek 
thinkers began to feel a growing dissatisfaction with the crude 
Decline of faith that had comfe down to them from prehis- 
paganism toric times. They found it more and more diffi¬ 
cult to believe in the Olympian deities, who were fashioned like 
themselves and had all the faults of mortal men. 1 An adulter¬ 
ous Zeus, a bloodthirsty Ares, and a scolding Hera, as Homer 
represents them, were hardly divinities that a cultured Greek 
could love and worship. For educated Romans, also, the rites 
and ceremonies of the ancient religion came gradually to lose 
their meaning. The worship of the Roman gods had never 
appealed to the emotions. Now it tended to pass into the mere 
mechanical repetition of prayers and sacrifices. Even the 
worship of the Caesars, 2 which did much to hold the empire 
together, failed to satisfy the spiritual wants of mankind. It 
made no appeal to the moral nature; it brought no message, 
either of .fear or hope, about a future world and a fife beyond 
the grave. 

During these centuries a system of Greek philosophy, called 
Stoicism, gained many adherents among the Romans. Any one 
. who will read Stoic writings, such as those of 

the noble emperor Marcus Aurelius, 3 will see in 
them some resemblances to Christianity. Stoicism urged 
men to forgive injuries — to “bear and forbear:” It preached 
the brotherhood of man. It expressed a humble and unfaltering 
reliance on a divine Providence. To many persons of refine¬ 
ment Stoicism became a real religion. But since Stoic philos¬ 
ophy could reach and influence only the educated classes, it 
could not become a religion for all sorts and conditions of men. 

Many Greeks found a partial satisfaction of their religious 
longings in secret rites called mysteries. Of these the most 

1 See page 77. 2 See page 196. 3 See page 201. 


The Preparation for Christianity 227 

important grew up at Eleusis, 1 a little Attic town thirteen 
miles from Athens. They were connected with the The Eleu _ 
worship of Demeter, goddess of vegetation and of sinianmys- 
the life of nature. The celebration of the Eleusinian tenes 
mysteries came in September and lasted nine days. When the 
candidates for admission to the secret rites were worked up 
Tpjp state of religious excitement, they entered a brilliantly 
lighted hall and witnessed a passion play dealing with the 
legend of Demeter. They seem to have had no direct moral 
instruction but saw, instead, living pictures and pantomimes 
which represented the life beyond the grave and held out to 
them the promise of a blessed lot in another world. As an 
Athenian orator said, “Those who have shared this initia¬ 
tion possess sweeter hopes about death and about the whole 
of life.” 2 

The Eleusinian mysteries, though unknown in the Homeric 
Age, were already popular before the epoch of the Persian wars. 
They became a Panhellenic festival open to all influence of 
Greeks, women as well as men, slaves as well as the mysteries 
freemen. The privilege of membership was later extended to 
Romans. During the first centuries of our era the influence 
of the mysteries increased, as faith in the Olympian religion 
declined. They formed one of the last strongholds of paganism 
and endured till the triumph of Christianity in the Roman 
world. 

The Asiatic conquests of Alexander, followed in later cen¬ 
turies by the extension of Roman rule over the eastern coasts of 
the Mediterranean, brought the classical peoples Qriental reli _ 
into contact with new religions which had arisen g i 0 ns in the 
in the Orient. Slaves, soldiers, traders, and trav- *£££“ 
elers carried the eastern faiths to the West, where 
they speedily won many followers. Even before the downfall 
of the republic the deities of Asia Minor, Egypt, and Persia had 
found a home at Rome. Under the empire many men and 
women were attracted to their worship. 

Perhaps the most remarkable of the Asiatic religions was 

1 See the map, page 107. 2 Isocrates , Panegyricus, 29. 

















































































229 


Rise and Spread of Christianity 

Mithraism. Mithra first appears as a Persian sun god, the 
leader of Ahuramazda’s hosts in the ceaseless struggle against 
the forces of darkness and evil. As a god of Mithra 
light Mithra was also a god of truth and purity. 

His worship, spreading over the Roman Empire, became the 
noblest of all pagan faiths. It took the form of a mystery 
with seven grades, or degrees, through which candidates passed 
by ordeals of initiation. Men saw in Mithra a Lord and 
Giver of Life, who protected the weak and miserable, cleansed 
the sinner, conquered death, and procured for his followers the 
crown of immortality. 

The new Oriental religions all appealed to the emotions. 
They helped to satisfy the spiritual wants of men and women, 
by dwelling on the need of purification from sin significance 
and by holding forth the prospect of a happier onhe_Orkn- 
life beyond the tomb. It is not strange, therefore, a re glons 
that they penetrated every province of the Roman Empire and 
flourished as late as the fourth century of our era. The early 
Christians had no more persistent antagonists than the followers 
of Mithra and other eastern divinities. 

78. Rise and Spread of Christianity 

Christianity rose amon^ the Jews, for Jesus was a Jew and 
his disciples were Jews. At the time of the death of Jesus 1 
his immediate followers numbered scarcely a Christianity 
hundred persons/ The catastrophe of the cruci- among the 
fixion struck them with sorrow and dismay. 

When, however, the disciples came to believe in the resurrection 
of their master, a wonderful impetus was given to the growth 
of the new religion. They now asserted that Jesus was the true 
Messiah, or Christ, who by rising from the dead had sealed the 
truth of his teachings. For several years after the crucifixion, 
the disciples remained at Jerusalem, preaching and making 
converts. The new doctrines met so much opposition on the 
part of Jewish leaders in the capital city that the followers 

i The exact date of the crucifixion is unknown. It took place during the reign 
of Tiberius, when Pontius Pilatus was procurator of Judea. 


230 


The Later Empire 


of Jesus withdrew to Samaria, Damascus, and Antioch. In all 
these places there were large Jewish communities, among 
whom Peter and his fellow apostles labored zealously. 

Up to this time the new faith had been spread only among 
the Jews. The first Christians did not neglect to keep up all 
Missionary the customs of the Jewish religion, It was even 
labors of doubted for a while whether any but Jews could 
properly be allowed within the Christian fold. 
A new convert, Saul of Tarsus, afterwards the Apostle Paul, 



Modern Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives 


did most to admit the Gentiles, or pagans, to the privileges 
of the new religion. Though born a Jew, Paul had been 
trained in the schools of Tarsus, a city of Asia Minor which 
was a great center of Greek learning. He possessed a knowl¬ 
edge of Greek philosophy, and particularly of Stoicism. This 
broad education helped to make him an acceptable missionary 
to Greek-speaking peoples. During more than thirty years 
of unceasing activity Paul established churches in Asia Minor, 
Greece, Macedonia, and Italy. ^To many of these churches 
he wrote the letters (epistles), which have found a place in 
the New Testament. Paul was an acute thinker, as well as a 







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Rise and Spread of Christianity 


231 


Christianity 
among the 
Gentiles 



man of deep spiritual insight, and the doctrines found in his 
writings have exercised a very great influence in the develop¬ 
ment of Christian theology. 

Christianity advanced with marvelous rapidity over the 
Roman world. At the close of the first century there were 
Christians every¬ 
where in Asia Minor. 

The second century 
saw the establishment of flourish¬ 
ing churches in almost every 
province of the empire. A hun¬ 
dred years later there were mis¬ 
sionaries along the Rhine, on the 
Danube frontier, and in distant 
Britain. “We are but of yester¬ 
day,” says a Christian writer, with 
pardonable exaggeration, “yet we 
have filled all your places of re¬ 
sort — cities, islands, fortresses, 
towns, markets, the camp itself, 
the tribes, town councils, the 
palace, the senate, and the forum, 
the temples of your gods.” 1 ^ 1 

Certain circumstances contributed to the success of this 
gigantic missionary enterprise. Alexander’s conquests in the 
East and those of Rome in thd West had done Conditions 
much to remove the barriers to intercourse be- favoring the 
tween nations. The spread of Greek and Latin s c p "“^ t y 
as the common languages of the Mediterranean 
world furnished a medium in which Christian speakers and 
writers could be easily understood. The sc attering_of the Jews 
after the destruction of Jerusalem 2 provided the Christians 
with an audience in many cities of the empire. The early mis¬ 
sionaries, such as Paul himself, were often Roman citizens who 
enjoyed the protection of the Roman law and profited by the 
ease of travel which the imperial rule had made possible. At 

* Tertullian, Apology, 37. 2 See page 199, note 1. 


Madonna and 
Child 

U/j The earliest known 
representation of Mary 
and the infant Jesus. 
The prophet Isaiah is 
shown pointing to the new star. The 
picture dates from about 200 a.d. and 
comes from the catacombs of St. 
Priscilla. 

We have left to you only 





232 


The Later Empire 


no other period in ancient history were conditions so favorable 
for the rapid spread of a new religion. 

While Christianity was conquering the world, the believers 
in its doctrines were grouping themselves into communities or 
Organization churches. Every city had a 
of early congregation of Christian 
Christianity worshipers. 1 j/fThey met, not 

in synagogues as did the Jews, but in 
private houses, where they sang hymns, 
listened to readings from the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures, and partook of a sacrificial meal in 
memory of the last supper of Jesus with 
his disciples. Certain officers called pres¬ 
byters, 2 or elders, were chosen to conduct 
the services and instruct the-converts. 
The chief presbyter received the name of 
“overseer,” or bishop. 3 Each church had 
also one or more deacons, who visited the 
sick and relieved the wants of the poor. 
Every Christian community thus formed 
a little brotherhood of earnest men and 
women, united by common beliefs and 
common hopes. 



Christ, the Good 
Shepherd 

Imperial Museum, Con¬ 
stantinople 

This quaint, rude figure, 
found in an early Christian 
tomb in Asia Minor, dates 
probably from the begin¬ 
ning of the third century. 
It is the oldest known 
statue of Christ. He wears 
the coarse garb of an Ori¬ 
ental peasant; his coun¬ 
tenance is gentle and 
thoughtful; on his broad 
shoulders rests a lamb. 


79. The Persecutions 


toward the 
Christians 


The new religion from the start met 
popular disapproval. The early Chris- 
Hostiiity tmns, who tried to keep them¬ 
selves free from idolatry, were 
,, regarded as very unsociable 
persons. They never appeared at public 
feasts and entertainments. They would not 
join in the amusements of the circus or the amphitheater. They 
refused to send their children to the schools. The ordinary citi- 

1 The meeting was called ecclesia from the Greek word for “popular assembly.” 
Hence comes our word “ecclesiastical.” 2 Whence the word “priest.” 

The word “bishop” comes from the Greek episkopos and means, literally, an 
“overseer.” 






The Persecutions 233 

zen could not understand such people. (It is not surprising, 

therefore, that they gained the evil name of “haters of mankind.’!' 

If the multitude despised the Christians, they sometimes 

feared them as well. Strange stories circulated about the secret 

meetings of the Christians, who at their sacri- superstitious 

ficial meal were declared to feast on children, fear of the 

. Christians 

The Christians, too, were often looked upon as 

magicians who caused all sorts of disasters. It was not difficult 

to excite the vicious crowds of the larger cities to riots and 

disorders, in which many followers of the new religion lost 

their lives. 

Such outbursts of mob hatred were only occasional. There 
would have been no organized, persistent attack, if the imperial 
government had not taken a hand. Rome, which Antagonism 
had treated so many other foreign faiths with ® f o ^ n ^° e “ an 
careless indifference or even with favor, which had 
tolerated the Jews and granted to them special privileges of 
worship jl made a deliberate effort to crush Christianity. 

Rome entered on the persecutions because it saw in Chris¬ 
tianity that which threatened its own existence. The Christians 
declined to supp ort the state religion; they even Attitude 0 f 
condemned it unsparingly as sinful and idolatrous, th^istians 
The Christians, moreover, would not worship the ^b sm 
genius, or guardian spirit of the emperor, and would 
not burn incense before his statue, which stood in every town. 
To do so would have been an acknowledgment of the divinity 
of the emperor —■ something impossible for Christians. Hos¬ 
tility to the Christians was increased by their unwillingness to 
serve in the army and to swear by the pagan gods in courts of 
law. In short, the members of this new sect must have ap¬ 
peared very unruly subjects who, if allowed to become numer¬ 
ous enough, would endanger the security of the government. 

As early as the beginning of the second century Roman offi¬ 
cials began to search out and punish Christians, Diocletian’s 
wherever they were found. During the third cen- versecn^ 
tury the entire power of the imperial government 
was directed against this outlawed sect. The persecution which 




234 


The Later Empire 

began under Diocletian was the last and most severe. With 
some interruptions it continued for eight years. Only Gaul 
and Britain seem to have escaped its ravages. The govern¬ 
ment began by burning the holy books of the Christians, by 

destroying their churches, 
and by taking away their 
property. Members of 
the hated faith lost their 
privileges as full Roman 
citizens. Then sterner 
measures followed. The 
prisons were crowded 
with Christians. Those 
who refused to recant and 
sacrifice to the emperor 
were thrown to wild ani- 
mals in the arena, 
stretched on the rack, or 
burned over a slow fire. 
Every refinement of tor¬ 
ture was practiced. Pa¬ 
ganism, fighting for its 
existence, left no means 
untried to root out a sect 
both despised and feared. 

The Christians joyfully 
suffered for their religion. 

* They wel- 

The martyrs J 

corned the 
torture and death which 
would gain for them a heavenly crown. Those who perished 
were called martyrs, that is, “witnesses.” Even now the festal 
day of a martyr is the day of his death. 

80. Triumph of Christianity 

Diocletian’s persecution, which continued for several years 
after his abdication, came to an end in 311 a.d. In that year 



Interior or the Catacombs 


The catacombs of Rome are underground ceme¬ 
teries in which the Christians buried their dead. 
The bodies were laid in recesses in the walls of the 
galleries or underneath the pavement. Several tiers 
of galleries (in one instance as many as seven) lie one 
below the other. Their total length has been esti¬ 
mated at no less than six hundred miles. The illus¬ 
tration shows a small chamber, or cubiculum. The 
graves have been opened and the bodies taken 
away. 







Triumph of Christianity 235 





Galerius, the ruler in the East, published an edict which per¬ 
mitted the Christians to rebuild their churches Christ - an . ty 
and worship undisturbed. It remained for the em- becomes a 
peror Constantine to take the next significant [° g le 0 r ^ ted re ~ 
step. In 313 a.d. Constantine and his colleague, 

Licinius, issued the Edict of Milan^ which proclaimed for the 
first time in history the noble principle of 
religious toleration.; It gave absolute free¬ 
dom to every man to choose and follow 
the religion which he deemed best suited to 
his needs. This edict placed the Christian 
faith on an equality with paganism. 

The conversion of Constantine is one of 
the most important events in ancient his¬ 
tory. A Roman emperor, him- Constantine’s 
self a god to the subjects of conversion 
Rome, became the worshiper of a crucified 
provincial of his empire. Constantine fa¬ 
vored the Christians throughout his reign. 

He surrounded himself with Christian 
bishops, freed the clergy from taxation, 
and spent large sums in building churches. 

One of his laws abolished the use of the 
cross as an instrument of punishment. 

Another enactment required that magis¬ 
trates, city people, and artisans were to rest on Sunday. This 
was the first “Sunday law.” 1 

Significant of the emperor’s attitude toward Christianity 
was his action in summoning all the bishops in the different 


The Labarum 

The sacred military 
standard of the early 
Christian Roman em¬ 
perors. First adopted by 
Constantine. It consisted 
of a staff or lance with 
a purple banner on a 
cross-bar. The two Greek 
letters XP (CHR) make 
a monogram of the word 
Christ (Greek 'Christos). 


provinces to a gathering at Nicaea in Asia Minor, church Coun¬ 
it was the first general council of the Church, 

The principal work of the Council of Nicaea was 

the settlement of a great dispute which had arisen over the 

nature of Christ. Some theologians headed by Arius, a priest 

1 It is highly doubtful, however, whether this legislation had any reference to 
Christianity. More probably, Constantine was only adding the day of the Sun, the 
worship of which was then firmly established in the empire, to the other holy days 
of the Roman calendar. 






236 The Later Empire 

of Alexandria, maintained that Christ the Son, having been 
created by God the Father, was necessarily inferior to him. 
Athanasius, another Alexandri an prie st, opposed this view and 
held that Christ was not a created being, but was in all ways 
equal to God. The Council accepted the arguments of Athana¬ 
sius, condemned Arius as a heretic, and framed the Nicene Creed, 



Arch of Constantine 

Erected at Rome in 315 a.d. to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Maxentius. 
The monument consists of a central gateway, and two smaller arches flanked by detached 
columns in the Corinthian style. The arch is decorated with four large statues in front of 
the upper story and also with numerous sculptures in relief. 


which is still the accepted summary of Christian doctrine. 
Though thrust out of the Church, Arianism lived to flourish 
anew among the Germanic tribes, of which the majority were 
converted to Christianity by Arian missionaries^ 

The recognition given to Christianity by Constantine helped 
immensely to spread the new faith. The emperor Theodosius, 
whose services to the church won him the title of 
“the Great,” made Christianity the state religion. 
Sacrifices to the pagan gods were forbidden, the 
temples were closed, and their property was taken 
away. Those strongholds of the old paganism, the 
Delphic oracle, the Olympian games, and the Eleusinian mys- 


Christianity 
becomes the 
state religion 
under Theo¬ 
dosius, 379 - 
395 A.D. 










237 


Christian Influence on Society 

teries, were abolished. Even the private worship of the house¬ 
hold Lares and Penates 1 was prohibited. Though paganism 
lingered for a century or more in the country districts, it became 
extinct as a state religion by the end of the fourth century. 


81 . Christian Influence on Society 


Christianity 


The new religion certainly helped to soften and refine 
manners by the stress which it laid upon such “Christian” 
virtues as humility, tenderness, and gentleness. Moral teach- 
By dwelling on the sanctity of human life, Chris- mgs of 
tianity did its best to repress the very common 
practice of suicide as well as the frightful evil of infanticide. 2 
It set its face sternly against the obscenities of the theater and 
the cruelties of the gladiatorial shows. 3 In these and other re¬ 
spects Christianity had much to do with the improvement of 
ancient morals. 

Perhaps even more original contributions of Christianity to 
civilization lay in its social teachings. The belief in the father¬ 
hood of God implied a corresponding belief in the Social teach _ 
brotherhood of man. This doctrine of the equality mgs of 
of men had been expressed before by ancient phi¬ 
losophers, but Christianity translated the precept into practice. 
In this way it helped to improve the condition of slaves and, by 
favoring emancipation, even tended to decrease slavery; 4 
Christianity also laid much emphasis on the virtue of charity 
and the duty of supporting all institutions which aimed to 
relieve the lot of the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden. 

At the close of the fourth century the Germanic tribes living 
nearest the frontiers had been visited by missionaries and had 
become converts to Christianity. The fact that Christianity 
both Romans and Germans were Christians tended andu^ 
to lessen the terrors of the invasions and to bring 
about a peaceful fusion of the conquerors and the conquered. 

« See page 267. 

* See page 270. 


Christianity 


1 See page 146. 
* See page 253. 


238 


The Later Empire 


Studies 

1. On an outline map indicate the territories of the Roman Empire and their 
division, 395 a . d . 2. What is the date of the accession of the emperor Corn- 
modus? of the accession of Diocletian? of the death of Theodosius? of the Edict 
of Milan? of the Council of Nicaea? 3. What elements of weakness in the imperial 
system had been disclosed during the century 180-284 a . d .? 4. Explain Diocle¬ 
tian’s plan of “partnership emperors.” 5. Define the terms absolutism and central¬ 
ization. Give an example of a European country under a centralized administration; 
of a European country under an absolute government. 6. What are the advantages 
of local self-government over a centralized government? 7. “The emperor of the 
first century was a Prince, that is, ‘first citizen’; the emperor of the fourth century 
was a Sultan.” Comment on this statement. 8. What arguments might have 
been made for and against the removal of the capital to Constantinople? 9. Enu¬ 
merate the causes of the decline of population in imperial times. 10. Show how an 
unwise system of taxation may work great economic injury, n. Give reasons 
for the decline of Greek and Roman paganism. 12. Why should Mithraism have 
proved “the most formidable foe which Christianity had to overcome”? 13. Were 
any of the ancient religions missionary faiths? 14. When and where was Jesus 
bom? Who was king of Judea at the time? Were the Jews independent of Rome 
during the lifetime of Jesus? 15. Locate on the map, facing page 230, the three 
divisions of Palestine at the time of Christ. 16. To what cities of Asia Minor did 
Paul write his epistles, or letters? To what other cities in the Roman Empire? 
17. What was the original meaning of the words “presbyter,” “bishop,” and 
“deacon”? 18. What is meant by calling the Church an episcopal organization? 
19. How can you explain the persecution of the Christians by an emperor so great 
and good as Marcus Aurelius? 20. What is the meaning of the word “martyr”? 
21. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Explain. 22. Describe 
the Labarum (illustration, page 235). 23. What reasons suggest themselves as 

helping to explain the conversion of the civilized world to Christianity? 


CHAPTER XI 
THE GERMANS TO 476 A.D.* 

82 . Germany and the Germans 

The Germans were an Indo-European people, as were their 
neighbors, the Celts of Gaul and Britain. They had lived for 
many centuries in the wild districts of central physical 
Europe north of the Alps and beyond the Danube features of 
and the Rhine. This home land of the Germans Germany 
in ancient times was cheerless and unhealthy. Dense forests 
or extensive marshes covered the ground. The atmosphere was 
heavy and humid; in summer clouds and mists brooded over 
the country; and in winter it was covered with snow and ice. 
In such a region everything was opposed to civilization. Hence 
the Germans, though a gifted race, had not advanced as rapidly 
as the Greek and Italian peoples. 

Our earliest notice of the Germans is found in the Commen¬ 
taries by Julius Caesar, who twice invaded their country. About 
a century and a half later the Roman historian, The Germans 
Tacitus, wrote a little book called Germany , which described by 
gives an account of the people as they were before the Romans 
coming under the influence of Rome and Christianity. Tacitus 
describes the Germans as barbarians with many of the usual 
marks of barbarism. He speaks of their giant size, their fierce, 
blue eyes, and their blonde or ruddy hair. These physical 
traits made them seem especially terrible to the smaller and 
darker Romans. He mentions their love of warfare, the fury 
of their onset in battle, and the contempt which they had for 
wounds and even death itself. When not fighting, they passed 
much of their time in the chase, and still more time in sleep and 

1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter xxiii, “The Germans as De¬ 
scribed by Tacitus.” 


239 


240 


The Germans 


gluttonous feasts. They were hard drinkers, too, and so pas¬ 
sionately fond of gambling that, when a man’s wealth was gone, 
he would even stake his liberty on a single game. In some of 
these respects the Germans resembled our own Indian tribes. 

On the other hand, the Germans had certain attractive quali¬ 
ties not always found even among civilized peoples. They were 
German hospitable to the stranger, they respected their 

morals sworn word, they loved liberty and hated re¬ 

straint. Their chiefs, we are told, ruled rather by persuasion 

QA»HHX|> 'T 0 fl N txl £ 

\FU ThORCG W H NI Y SO P A S T B E M L Ng D 0 

'-----* —---- ----- 

Runic Alphabet 

The word “rune” comes from a Gothic word meaning a secret thing, a 
mystery. To the primitive Germans it seemed a mysterious thing that let¬ 
ters could be used to express thought. The art of writing with an alphabet 
appears to have been introduced into Germanic Europe during the first cen¬ 
turies of our era. Most Runic inscriptions have been found in Denmark and 
the Scandinavian peninsula. 

than by authority. Above all, the Germans had a pure family 
life. “Almost alone among barbarians,” writes Tacitus, “they 
are content with one wife. No one in Germany laughs at vice, 
nor is it the fashion to corrupt and be corrupted. Good habits 
are here more effectual than good laws elsewhere.” 1 The Ger¬ 
mans, then, were strong and brave, hardy, chaste, and free. 

The Germans, during the three centuries between the time of 
Tacitus and the beginning of the invasions, had advanced some- 
Progress of what in civilization. They were learning to live in 
the Germans towns instead of in rude villages, to read and write, 
to make better weapons and clothes, to use money, and to enjoy 
many Roman luxuries, such as wine, spices, and ornaments. 
They were likewise uniting in great confederations of tribes, ruled 
by kings who were able to lead them in migrations to other lands. 

During this same period, also, the Germans increased rapidly 
Reasons for num bers. Consequently it was a difficult 

the Germanic matter for them to live by hunting and fishing, or 
migrations suc h rude agriculture as their country allowed. 

They could find additional land only in the fertile and weU 

1 Tacitus, Germania, 19. 







241 


Breaking of the Danube Barrier 


cultivated territories of the Romans. It was this hunger 
for land, together with the love of fighting and the desire for 
booty and adventure, which led to their migrations. 

The German inroads were neither sudden, nor unexpected, 
nor new. Since the days of Marius and of Julius Caesar not a 
century had passed without witnessing some dan- Growing 
gerous movement of the northern barbarians, weakness of 
Until the close of the fourth century Rome had Rome 
always held their swarming hordes at bay. Nor were the 
invasions which at length destroyed the empire much more 
formidable than those which had been repulsed many times 
before. Rome fell because she could no longer resist with her 
earlier power. If the barbarians were not growing stronger, the 
Romans themselves were steadily growing weaker. The form 
of the empire was still the same, but it had lost its vigor and its 
vitality. 1 


83. Breaking of the Danube Barrier 

North of the Danube lived, near the close of the fourth cen¬ 
tury, a German people called Visigoths, or West Goths. Their 
kinsmen, the Ostrogoths, or East Goths, held the The Goths 
land north of the Black Sea between the Danube 
and the Don. These two nations had been among the most 
dangerous enemies of Rome. In the third century they made 
so many expeditions against the eastern territories of the empire 
that Aurelian at last surrendered to the Visigoths the great 
province of Dacia. 2 The barbarians now came in contact with 
Roman civilization and began to lead more settled lives. Some 
of them even accepted Christianity from Bishop Ulfilas, who 
translated the Bible into the Gothic tongue. 

The peaceful fusion of Goth and Roman might have gone on 
indefinitely but for the sudden appearance in TheVisigoths 
Europe of the Huns. They were a nomadic people cross the 
from central Asia. Entering Europe north of the Danube, 376 
Caspian Sea, the Huns quickly subdued the Ostro¬ 
goths and compelled them to unite in an attack upon their 

i See pages 224-226. 2 See page 219. 


24 2 


The Germans 


German kinsmen. Then the entire nation of Visigoths crowded 
the banks of the Danube and begged the Roman authorities 
to allow them to cross that river and place its broad waters 
between them and their terrible foes. In an evil hour for 

Rome their prayer was 
granted. At length two 
hundred thousand 

Gothic warriors, with 
their wives and children, 
found a home on Ro¬ 
man soil. 

The settlement of such 
a host of barbarians 

Battle of within the 

Adrianople, frontier of 

378 A.D. the empire 

was in itself a dangerous 
thing. The danger was 
increased by the ill treat¬ 
ment which the immi¬ 
grants received. The 
Roman officials robbed 
them of their posses¬ 
sions, withheld the 
promised, supplies of 
food, and even tried to 
murder their leaders at 
a banquet. Finally, the 
Germans broke out in 
open revolt. The em¬ 
peror Valens misjudged 
their strength and rashly gave them battle near Adrianople in 
Thrace. The once invincible legions fell an easy prey to their 
foes, and the emperor himself perished. 

The defeat at Adrianople is considered one of the few really 
decisive battles in the world’s history. It showed the barbari¬ 
ans that they could face the Romans in open fight and beat 



A manuscript of Ulfilas’s translation of the Bible 
forms one of the treasures of the library of the univer¬ 
sity of Upsala, Sweden. It is beautifully written in 
letters of gold and silver on parchment of a rich pur¬ 
ple dye. In making his version Ulfilas, who was himself 
a converted Visigoth, generally indicated the Gothic 
sounds by means of the Greek alphabet. He added, 
nowever, a few signs from the Runic alphabet, with 
which the Germans were familiar. 







Breaking of the Danube Barrier 243 

them. And it broke, once for all, the Danube barrier. Swarms 
of fighting men, Ostrogoths as well as Visigoths, Results of 
overran the provinces south of the Danube. The the battle 
great ruler, Theodosius, 1 saved the empire for a time by grant¬ 
ing lands to the Germans and by enrolling them in the army 
under the high-sounding title of “allies.” Until his death the 
Goths remained quiet — but it was only the lull before the 
storm. 

Theodosius, “the friend of the Goths,” died in 395 a.d., 
leaving the defense of the Roman world to his weakling 
sons, Arcadius and Honorius. In the same year Alaric the 
the Visigoths raised one of their young nobles, Vlslgoth 
named Alaric, upon a shield and with joyful shouts acclaimed 
him as their king. The Visigothic leader despised the service of 
Rome. His people, he thought, should be masters, not ser¬ 
vants. Alaric determined to lead them into the very heart of 
the empire, where they might find fertile lands and settle once 
for all. 

Alaric at first fixed his attention on Constantinople. Real¬ 
izing, at length, how hopeless would be the siege of that great 
city, he turned toward the west and descended Maxic in 
upon Greece. The Germans marched unopposed Greece and 
through the pass of Thermopylae and devastated y 
central Greece, as the Persians had done nearly nine centuries 
before. 2 Then the barbarians entered the Peloponnesus, but 
were soon driven out by Stilicho, a German chieftain who had 
risen to the command of the army of Honorius. Alaric gave 
up Greece only to invade Italy. Before long the Goths crossed 
the Julian Alps and entered the rich and defenseless valley 
of the Po. To meet the crisis the legions were hastily called 
in, even from the distant frontiers. Stilicho formed them into 
a powerful army, beat back the enemy, and captured the 
Visigothic camp, filled with the spoil of Greek cities. In the 
eyes of the Romans Stilicho seemed a second Marius, who 
had arisen in an hour of peril to save Italy from its barbarian 
foes.* 

1 See page 223. * See page 98. 3 See page 178. 


244 


The Germans 


Alaric and his Goths had been repulsed; they had not been 
destroyed. Beyond the Alps they were regaining their shat- 
The Visigoths tered strength and biding their time. Their 
before Rome opportunity came soon enough, when Honorius 
caused Stilicho to be put to death on a charge of plotting to 
seize the throne. The accusation may have been true, but in 
killing Stilicho the emperor had cut off his right hand with his 
left. Now that Stilicho was out of the way, Alaric no longer 
feared to descend again on Italy. The Goths advanced rapidly 
southward past Ravenna, where Honorius had shut himself 
up in terror, and made straight for Rome. In 410 a.d., just 
eight hundred years after the sack of the city by the Gauls, 1 
Rome found the Germans within her gates. 

The city for thpee days and nights was given up to pillage. 
Alaric, who was a Christian, ordered his followers to respect the 
Sack of Rome churches and their property and to refrain from 

by the Visi- bloodshed. Though the city did not greatly suffer, 
goths, 410 A.D. . , 1 rr . r J. ® . 

the moral effect of the disaster was immense. 

Rome the eternal, the unconquerable, she who had taken 
captive all the world, was now herself a captive. The pagans 
saw in this calamity the vengeance of the ancient deities, who 
had been dishonored and driven from their shrines. The Chris¬ 
tians believed that God had sent a judgment on the Romans to 
punish them for their sins. In either case the spell of Rome 
was forever broken. 

From Rome Alaric led his hosts, laden with plunder, into 
southern Italy. He may have intended to cross the Mediter- 
Kingdom of ranean and bring Africa under his rule. The plan 
toe Wsigoths, was never carried out, for the youthful chieftain 
died suddenly, a victim of the Italian fever. After 
Alaric’s death, the barbarians made their way northward 
through Italy and settled in southern Gaul and Spain. In these 
lands they founded an independent Visigothic kingdom, the 
first to be created on Roman soil. 

The possessions of the Visigoths in Gaul were seized by their 
neighbors, the Franks, in less than a century; 2 but the Gothic 

1 See page 153. 2 See page 303. 























































































































Breaking of the Rhine Barrier 245 


kingdom in Spain had three hundred years of prosperous life. 
The barbarian rulers sought to preserve the insti- R 0man i za _ 
tutions of Rome and to respect the rights of their tion of the 
Roman subjects. Conquerors and conquered grad- Vlslgoths 
uaily blended into one people, out of whom have grown the 
Spaniards of modern times. 


84 . Breaking of the Rhine Barrier 


After the departure of the Visigoths Rome and Italy remained 
undisturbed for nearly forty years. The western provinces 
were not so fortunate. At the time of Alaric’s r __ _ 

The Germans 

first attack on Italy the legions along the Rhine cross the 
had been withdrawn to meet him, leaving the 
frontier unguarded. In 406 a.d., four years before 
Alaric’s sack of Rome, a vast company of Germans crossed the 
Rhine and swept almost unopposed through Gaul. Some of 
these peoples succeeded in establishing kingdoms for them¬ 


selves on the ruins of the empire. 

The Burgundians settled on the upper Rhine and in the fer¬ 
tile valley of the Rhone, in southeastern Gaul. Kingdom of 
After less than a century of independence they theBurgun- 
were conquered by the Franks. Their name, 534^’ ^ 43 ~ 
however, survives in modern Burgundy. 

The Vandals settled first in Spain. The territory now called 
Andalusia still preserves the memory of these barbarians. 
After the Visigothic invasion of Spain the Vandals 
passed over to North Africa. They made them¬ 
selves masters of Carthage and soon conquered all 
the Roman province of Africa. Their kingdom here 
lasted about one hundred years. 

While the Visigoths were finding a home in the districts 
north and south of the Pyrenees, the Burgundians in the Rhone 
valley, and the Vandals in Africa, still another The Franks 


Vandal king¬ 
dom in North 
Africa, 429- 
534 A.D. 


Germanic people began to spread over northern in northern 

Gaul. They were the Franks, who had long held 

lands on both sides of the lower Rhine. The Franks, unlike the 


246 


The Germans 


other Germans, were not of a roving disposition. They con¬ 
tented themselves with a gradual advance into Roman terri¬ 
tory. It was not until near the close of the fifth century that 
they overthrew the Roman power in northern Gaul and began 
to form the Frankish kingdom, out of which modern France has 
grown. 

The troubled years of the fifth century saw also the begin¬ 
ning of the Germanic conquest of Britain. The withdrawal of 
The Angles the le £ ions from that island left it defenseless, for 

and Saxons the Celtic inhabitants were too weak to defend 

from449AD themse l ves * Bands of savage Piets from Scotland 
swarmed over Hadrian’s Wall, attacking the 
Britons in the rear. Ireland sent forth the no less savage 
Scots. The eastern coasts, at the same time, were constantly 
exposed to raids by German pirates. The Britons, in their 
extremity, adopted the old Roman practice of getting the 
barbarians to fight for them. Bands of Jutes were invited 
over from Denmark in 449 a.d. The Jutes forced back the 
Piets and then settled in Britain as conquerors. Fresh 
swarms of invaders followed them, chiefly Angles from what 
is now Schleswig-Holstein and Saxons from the neighborhood 
of the rivers Elbe and Weser in northern Germany. The 
invaders subdued nearly all that part of Britain that Rome 
had previously conquered. In this way the Angles and Saxons 
became ancestors of the English people, and Engleland became 
England. 1 

By the middle of the fifth century the larger part of the 
Roman Empire in the West had come under barbarian control. 
Political situ- The Germans ruled in Africa, Spain, Britain, and 
atwn in 451 parts of Gaul. But new the new Germanic king¬ 
doms, together with what remained of the old 
empire, were threatened by a common foe — the terrible 
Huns. 


1 The invasion of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons was followed by the migration 
across the Channel of large numbers of the defeated islanders. The district in 
France where they settled is called after them, Brittany. 


Inroads of the Huns 


247 


85 . Inroads of the Huns 


We know very little about the Huns, except that they were 
not related to the Germans or to any other European people. 
Some scholars believe them to have belonged to Tfae Hung 
the Mongolian race. But the Huns, to the excited 
imagination of Roman writers, were demons rather than men. 
Their olive skins, little, turned-up noses, and black, beady eyes 
must have given them a very frightful appearance. They 
spent most of their time on horseback, sweeping over the coun¬ 
try like a whirlwind and leaving destruction and death in their 


wake. 

The Huns did not become dangerous to Rome for more than 
half a century after their first appearance in Europe. 1 During 
this time they moved into the Danube region and Attila the 
settled in the lands now known as Austria and Hun 
Hungary. At last the Huns found a national leader in Attila, 
“a man born into the world to agitate the nations, the fear of 
all lands,” 2 one whose boast it was that the grass never grew 
again where his horse’s hoofs had trod. He quickly built up a 
great military power obeyed by many barbarous nations from 
the Caspian to the Rhine. 

Attila, from his capital on the Danube, could threaten both 
the East and the West. The emperors at Constantinople 
bought him off with lavish gifts, and so the robber- Invasion of 
ruler turned to the western provinces for his prey. Gaulby 
In 451 a.d. he led his motley host, said to number 
half a million men, across the Rhine. Many a noble munici¬ 
pality with its still active Roman life was visited by the Huns 
with fire and sword. Paris, it is worthy of note, escaped de¬ 
struction. That now famous city was then only a little village 
on an island in the Seine. 

In this hour of danger Romans and Germans gave up quarrel¬ 
ing and united against the common foe. Visigoths under their 
native king hastened from Spain; Burgundians and Franks 
joined their ranks; to these forces a German general, named 

1 See Daee 241. 2 Jordanes, De rebus Geticis, 35- 


248 


The Germans 


Aetius, added the last Roman army in the West. Opposed to 
them Attila had his Huns, the conquered Ostrogoths, and many 
Battle of other barbarian peoples. The battle of Chalons 
Chalons, 451 has well been called a struggle of the nations. It 
was one of the fiercest conflicts recorded in history. 
On both sides thousands perished, but so many more of Attila’s 
men fell that he dared not risk a fresh encounter on the follow¬ 
ing day. He drew his shattered forces together and retreated 
beyond the Rhine. 

In spite of this setback Attila did not abandon the hope of 
conquest. The next year he led his still formidable army over 
Attila invades t ^ ie J u li an Alps and burned or plundered many 

Italy, 452 towns of northern Italy. A few trembling fugi¬ 

tives sought shelter on the islands at the head of 
the Adriatic. Out of their rude huts grew up in the Middle 
Ages splendid and famous Venice, a city that in later centuries 
was to help defend Europe against those kinsmen of the Huns, 
the Turks. 

The fiery Hun did not long survive this Italian expedition. 

Within a year he was dead, dying suddenly, it was said, in a 

Death of drunken sleep. The great confederacy which he 

Attila, 453 had formed broke up after his death. The Ger- 

A D A 

man subjects gained their freedom, and the Huns 

themselves either withdrew to their Asiatic wilds or mingled 

with the peoples they had conquered. Europe breathed again; 

the nightmare was over. 

86 . End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 A.D. 

Rome escaped a visitation by the Huns only to fall a victim, 
three years later, to the Vandals. After the capture of Car- 
Vandal thage, 1 these barbarians made that city the seat of 

pirates a pi ra t e empire. Putting out in their long, light 

vessels, they swept the seas and raided many a populous city 
on the Mediterranean coast. So terrible were their inroads 
that the word “vandalism” has come to mean the wanton 
destruction of property. 


1 See page 245. 



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End of the Roman Empire in the West 249 


In 455 a.d. the ships of the Vandals, led by their king, Gai- 
seric, appeared at the mouth of the Tiber. The Romans could 
offer no resistance. Only the noble bishop Leo sack of Rome 
went out with his clergy to meet the invader and by the Van- 
intercede for the city. Gaiseric promised to spare dals ’ 455 A ' D * 
the lives of the inhabitants and not to destroy the public build¬ 
ings. These were the best terms he would grant. The Vandals 
spent fourteen days stripping Rome of her wealth. Besides 
shiploads of booty the Vandals took away thousands of Romans 
as slaves, including the widow and two daughters of an emperor. 

After the Vandal sack of Rome the imperial throne became 
the mere plaything of the army and its leaders. A German 
commander, named Ricimer, set up and deposed 
four puppet emperors within five years. He was, 
in fact, the real ruler of Italy at this time. After his 
death Orestes, another German general, went a 
step beyond Ricimer’s policy and placed his own son on the 
throne of the Caesars. By a curious coincidence, this lad bore 
the name of Romulus, legendary founder of Rome, and the 
nickname of Augustulus (“the little Augustus”)- The boy 
emperor reigned less than a year. The German troops clam¬ 
ored for a third of the lands of Italy and, when their demand 
was refused, proclaimed Odoacer king. The poor little emperor, 
Romulus Augustulus, was sent to a villa near Naples, where he 
disappears from history. 

There was now no emperor in the West. To the men of that 
time it seemed that East and West had been once more joined 


The Roman 
Empire in the 
West, 455- 
476 A.D. 


under a single ruler, as in the days of Constantine. p 0 ii t i ca i sit- 
The emperors who reigned at Constantinople did uation in 476 
not relinquish their claims to be regarded as the 
rightful sovereigns in Italy and Rome. Nevertheless, as an 
actual fact, Roman rule in the West was now all but extinct. 
Odoacer, the head of the barbarians in Italy, ruled a kingdom as 
independent as that of the Vandals in Africa or that of the 
Visigoths in Spain and Gaul. The date 476 a.d. may therefore 
be chosen as marking, better than any other, the overthrow of 
the Roman Empire in the West by the Germans. 


250 


The Germans 


87 . Germanic Influence on Society 

Classical civilization suffered a great shock when the Ger¬ 
mans descended on the empire and from its provinces carved 
Significance of out h^h* kingdoms. These barbarians were rude 
the Germanic in manners, were very ignorant, and had little 
taste for anything except fighting and bodily 
enjoyments. They were unlike the Romans in dress and habits 
of life. They lived under different laws, spoke different lan¬ 
guages, obeyed different rulers. Their invasions naturally 
ushered in a long period of confusion and disorder, during 
which the new race slowly raised itself to a level of culture 
somewhat approaching that which the Greeks and the Romans 
had attained. 

The Germans in many ways did injury to classical civiliza¬ 
tion. They sometimes destroyed Roman cities and killed or 
Retrogressive enslaved the inhabitants. Even when the invaders 
forces settled peaceably in the empire, they took posses¬ 

sion of the land and set up their own tribal governments in 
place of the Roman. They allowed aqueducts, bridges, and 
roads to go without repairs, and theaters, baths, and other 
public buildings to sink into ruins. Having no appreciation of 
education, the Germans failed to keep up the schools, univer¬ 
sities, and libraries. Being devoted chiefly to agriculture, they 
had no need for foreign wares or costly articles of luxury, and 
hence they permitted industry and commerce to languish. In 
short, large parts of western Europe, particularly Gaul, Spain, 
and Britain, fell backward into a condition of ignorance, super¬ 
stition, and even barbarism. 

But in closing our survey of the Germanic invasions we need 
to dwell on the forces that made for progress, rather than on 
Progressive those that made for decline. Classical civilization, 
forces we h ave already found reason to believe, 1 had 

begun to decay long before the Germans broke up the empire. 
The Germans came, as Christianity had come, only to hasten 
the process of decay. Each of these influences, in turn, worked 

1 See page 224. 


Germanic Influence on Society 251 

to build up the fabric of a new society on the ruins of the old. 
First Christianity infused the pagan world with its quickening 
spirit and gave a new religion to mankind. Later followed the 
Germans, who accepted Christianity, who adopted much of 
Graeco-Roman culture, and then contributed their fresh blood 
and youthful minds and their own vigorous life. 

Studies 

1. On an outline map indicate the extent of Germany in the time of Tacitus. 
2. Make a list of all the Germanic nations mentioned in this chapter, and give a 
short account of each. 3. Give dates for the following: battle of Chalons; sack of 
Rome by 'Alaric; battle of Adrianople; and end of the Roman Empire in the West. 
4. What resemblances existed between the culture of the Germans and that of the 
early Greeks? 5. Why did the Germans progress more slowly in civilization than 
the Greeks and the Romans? 6. Comment on this statement: “The Germans had 
stolen their way into the very citadel of the empire long before its distant outworks 
were stormed.” 7. Why is modern civilization, unlike that of antiquity, in little 
danger from barbarians? 8. Why has the battle of Adrianople been called “the 
Cannae of the fourth century”? 9. Why has Alaric been styled “the Moses of the 
Visigoths”? 10. What is the origin of the geographical names Andalusia, Bur¬ 
gundy, England, and France? u. Why was Attila called the “scourge of God” ? 
12. Can you suggest a reason why some historians do not regard Chalons as one of 
the world’s decisive battles ? 13. In what sense does the date, 476 a.d., mark 

the “fall” of the Roman Empire? 


I 


CHAPTER XII 
CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION 1 


88. The Classical City 

The history of the Greeks and Romans ought not to be 
studied only in their political development and the biographies 
The center °f th eir g reat statesmen and warriors. We must 
of classical also know something of ancient literature, phi¬ 
losophy, and art. Especially do we need to learn 
about the private life of the classical peoples — their manners, 
customs, occupations, and amusements. This life centered in 
the city. 

A Greek or a Roman city usually grew up about a hill of 
refuge (« acropolis , capitolium), to which the people of the sur- 
Origin of the rounding district could flee in time of danger, 
city xhe hill would be crowned with a fortress and the 

temples of the gods. Not far away was the market place (agora, 
forum), where the people gathered to conduct their business 
and to enjoy social intercourse. About the citadel and market 
place were grouped the narrow streets and low houses of the 
town. 

The largest and most beautiful buildings in an ancient city 

were always the temples, colonnades, and other public struc- 

General ap- tures - The houses of private individuals, for the 

pearance of an most part, had few pretensions to beauty. They 
ancient city . n . . . , J 

were insignificant in appearance and were often 
built with only one story. From a distance, however, their 
whitewashed walls and red-tiled roofs, shining brightly under 
the warm sun, must have made an attractive picture. 

To the free-born inhabitant of Athens or of Rome his city 

1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter xxi, “Roman Life as Seen in 
Pliny’s Letters”; chapter xxii, “A Satirist of Roman Society.” 

252 


Education and the Condition of Children 253 

was at once his country and his church, his club and his home. 
He shared in its government; he took part in the Life in 
stately ceremonies that honored its patron god; the city 
in the city he could indulge his taste for talking and for politics; 
here he found both safety and society. No wonder that an 
Athenian or a Roman learned, from early childhood, to love his 
city with passionate devotion. 

89. Education and the Condition of Children 

The coming of a child, to parents in antiquity as to parents 
now, was usually a very happy event. Especially welcome was 
the birth of a son. The father felt assured that Impor t a nce 
through the boy his old age would be cared for of male 
and that the family name and the worship of the children 
family ancestors would be kept up after his own death. “Male 
children,” said an ancient poet, “are the pillars of the house.” 1 
The city, as well, had an interest in the matter, for a male child 
meant another citizen able to take the father’s place in the 
army and the public assembly. To have no children was 
regarded as one of the greatest calamities that could befall a 
Greek or a Roman. 

The ancient attitude toward children was in one respect very 
unlike our own. The law allowed a father to do whatever he 
pleased with a newly born child. If he was very Infanticide 
poor, or if his child was deformed, he could expose 
it in some desert spot, where it soon died. An infant was some¬ 
times placed secretly in a temple, where possibly some kind- 
hearted person might rescue it. The child, in this case, became 
the slave of its adopter. This custom of exposure, an inher¬ 
itance from prehistoric savagery, tended to grow less common 
with advancing culture. The complete abolition of infanticide 
was due to the spread of Christian teachings about the sacred¬ 
ness of human life. 2 

A Greek boy generally had but one name. The favorite 
name for the eldest son was that of his paternal grandfather. A 
father, however, might give him his own name or that of an 
1 Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris, 57. 2 See page 237. 


Classical Civilization 


254 


intimate friend. The Romans at first seem to have used only 
Names the one name > then two were S lv en; and later we 

have the familiar three-fold name, representing the 
individual, the clan, and the family . 1 



Royal Museum, Berlin 

A painting by Duris on a drinking-cup, or cylix. The picture is divided by the two handles. 
In the upper half, beginning at the left: a youth playing the double flute as a lesson to the 
boy before him; a teacher holding a tablet and stylus and correcting a composition; a slave 
( pcedagogus ), who accompanied the children to and from school. In the lower half: a master 
teaching his pupil to play the lyre; a teacher holding a half-opened roll, listening to a recita¬ 
tion by the student before him; a bearded pcedagogus. The inner picture, badly damaged, 
represents a youth in a bath. 


Greek education consisted of three main branches, known as 
Greek gymnastics, music, and grammar. By gymnastics 

education the Greeks meant the physical training in the 

palestra, an open stretch of ground on the outskirts of the city. 

1 In “Marcus Tullius Cicero,” “Marcus,” the proenomen, corresponds to our 
“given” name; “Tullius,” the nomen, marks the clan, or gens; “Cicero,” the cogno¬ 
men, indicates the family. 







Education and the Condition of Children 255 

Here a private teacher gave instruction in the various athletic 
sports which were so popular at the national games. The train¬ 
ing in music was intended to improve the moral nature of young 
men and to fit them for pleasant social intercourse. They were 
taught to play a stringed intrument, called the lyre, and at the 
same time to sing to their own accompaniment. Grammar, 
the third branch of education, included instruction in writing 



A Roman School Scene 

Wall painting, Herculaneum 


and the reading of the national literature. After a boy had 
learned to write and to read, the schoolmaster took up with 
him the works of the epic poets, especially Homer, besides 
jEsop’s Fables and other popular compositions. The student 
learned by heart much of the poetry and at so early an age that 
he always remembered it. Not a few Athenians, it is said, 
could recite the entire Iliad and Odyssey. 

A Roman boy began his school days at about the age of 
seven. He learned to read, to write with a stylus on wax 
tablets, and to cipher by means of the reckoning Roman 
board, or abacus. He received a little instruction education . 
in singing and memorized all sorts of proverbs and maxims, 
besides the laws of the Twelve Tables. 1 His studying went on 
under the watchful eyes of a harsh schoolmaster, who did not 

1 See pages 151, 206. 






















Classical Civilization 


256 



hesitate to use the rod. After Rome began to come into close 
contact with Greece, the curriculum was enlarged by the study 
of literature. The Romans were the first people who made the 
learning of a foreign tongue an essential part of education. 

Schools now arose in which the 
Greek language and literature 
formed the chief subject of instruc¬ 
tion. As Latin literature came into 
being, its productions, especially the 
orations of Cicero and the poems of 
Vergil and Horace, were also used as 
texts for study. 

Persons of wealth or noble birth 
might follow their school training by 

Travel and a university course at a 
study abroad Greek city> such as 

Athens, Alexandria, or Rhodes. Here 
the Roman youth would listen to 
lectures on philosophy, delivered by 
the deep thinkers whom Greece still 
produced, and would profit by the 
treasures of art and science preserved 
in these ancient capitals. Many fa¬ 
mous Romans thus passed several 
years abroad in graduate study. 
During the imperial age, as we have 
already seen, 1 schools of grammar 
and rhetoric arose in the West, particularly in Gaul and Spain, 
and attracted students from all parts of the empire. 

90 . Marriage and the Position of Women 

A young man in Athens or in Rome did not, as a rule, marry 
immediately on coming of age. He might remain a bachelor 
Engagements for several Y ears > sometimes till he was thirty or 
over. The young man’s father had most to do 
with the selection of a wife. He tried to secure for his son some 

1 See page 218. 


Youth reading a Papyrus 
Roll 

Relief on a sarcophagus 

The papyrus roll was sometimes 
very long. The entire Iliad or 
Odyssey might be contained in a 
single manuscript measuring one 
hundred and fifty feet in length. 
In the third century a.d. the un¬ 
wieldy roll began to give way to 
the tablet, composed of a number 
of leaves held together by a ring. 
About this time, also, the use of 
vellum, or parchment made of 
sheepskin, became common. 










The Home and Private Life 


257 


daughter of a friend who possessed rank and property equal to 
his own. The parents of the two parties would then enter into 
a contract which, among other things, usually stated how large 
a dowry the bride’s father was to settle on his daughter. An 
engagement was usually very little a matter of romance and 
very much a matter of business. 

The wedding customs of the Greeks and Romans presented 
many likenesses. Marriage, among both peoples, was a reli¬ 
gious ceremony. On the appointed day the prin- Wedding 
cipals and their guests, dressed in holiday attire, customs 
met at the house of the bride. In the case of a Roman wedding 
the auspices 1 were then taken, and the words of the nuptial 
contract were pronounced in the presence of witnesses. After a 
solemn sacrifice to the gods of marriage, the guests partook of 
the wedding banquet. When night came on, the husband 
brought his wife to her new abode, escorted by a procession of 
torchbearers, musicians, and friends, who sang the happy 
wedding song. 

An Athenian wife, during her younger years, always remained 
more or less a prisoner. She could not go out except by per¬ 
mission. She took no part in the banquets and Position of 
entertainments which her husband gave. She women 
lived a fife of confinement in that quarter of the house assigned 
to the women for their special abode. Married women at Rome 
enjoyed a far more honorable position. Although early custom 
placed the wife, together with her children, in the power of the 
husband, 2 still she possessed many privileges. She did not re¬ 
main all the time at home, but mingled freely in society. She 
was the friend and confidante of her husband, as well as his 
housekeeper. During the great days of Roman history the 
women showed themselves virtuous and dignified, loving wives 
and excellent companions. 

91 . The Home and Private Life 

There were no great differences between the dress of the two 
classical peoples. Both wore the long, loosely flowing robes 

* See page 148. ’ See P a * e T44 ’ 


258 Classical Civilization 

that contrast so sharply with our tight-fitting garments . 1 

Athenian male attire consisted of but two articles, 
the tunic and the mantle. The tunic was an un¬ 
dergarment of wool or linen, without sleeves. Over this was 
thrown a large woolen mantle, so wrapped about the figure as 
to leave free only the right shoulder and head. In the house a 



House oe the Vetth at Pompeu (Restored) 

Notice the large area of blank wall both on the front and on the side. The front windows 
are very small and evidently of less importance for admitting light than tht openings of the 
two atria. At the back is seen the large, well-lighted peristyle. 


man wore only his tunic; out of doors and on the street he 
usually wore the mantle over it. Very similar to the two main 
articles of Greek clothing were the Roman tunica and toga? 

On a journey or out in the country broad-brimmed hats were 
used to shield the head from the sun. In rainy weather the 
Coverings for man tle, pulled up over the head, furnished protec- 
the head and tion. Sandals, merely flat soles of wood or leather 
fastened by thongs, were worn indoors, but even 
these were laid aside at a dinner party. Outside the house 
leather shoes of various shapes and colors were used. They 

1 See the illustrations, pages 117, 271. 

3 The corresponding names of women’s garments were stola and palla. 





The Home and Private Life 259 

cannot have heen very comfortable, since stockings were not 
known in antiquity. 

The ancient house lay close to the street line. The exterior 
was plain and simple to an extreme. The owner was satisfied 
if his mansion shut out the noise and dust of the Exterior of 
highway. He built it, therefore, round one or the house 
more open courts, which took the place of windows supplying 


Atrium of a Pompeian House 

The view shows the atrium with the basin for rainwater; in the center, the tablinum with 
its wall paintings; and the peristyle at the rear. 

light and air. Except for the doorway the front of the house 
presented a bare, blank surface, only relieved by narrow slits or 
lattices in the wall of the upper story. The street side of the 
house wall received a coating of whitewash or of fine marble 
stucco. The roof of the house was covered with clay tiles. 
This style of domestic architecture is still common in eastern 
lands. 

In contrast with its unpretentious exterior a classical dwell¬ 
ing indoors had a most attractive appearance. We cannot 
exactly determine just what were the arrangments interior of 
of a Greek interior. But the better class of Roman the house 
houses, such as some of those excavated at Pompeii, 1 followed 

1 See page 199. 










26o 


Classical Civilization 



Pompeian Floor Mosaic 


Greek designs in many respects. The Pompeian remains, 
therefore, will give some idea of the sort of residence occupied 
by a well-to-do citizen of Athens or Rome. 

The visitor at one of these ancient houses first entered a 
small vestibule, from which a narrow passage led to the heavy 

■ . oaken door. A dog 

The atrium ° 

was sometimes kept 
chained in this hallway; in Pompeii 
there is a picture of one worked in 
mosaic on the floor with the warn¬ 
ing beneath it, “ Beware of the 
dog.” Having made known his 
presence by using the knocker, the 
guest was ushered into the recep¬ 
tion room, or atrium. This was a 
large apartment covered with a 
roof, except for a hole in the center 
admitting light and air. A marble 
basin directly underneath caught the rain water which came 
through the opening. The atrium represents the single room 
of the primitive Roman house without windows or chimney. 1 

A corridor from the atrium led into the peristyle , the second 
of the two main sections of a Roman house. It was a spacious 
court, open to the sky and inclosed by a colonnade 
or portico. This delightful spot, rather than the 
formal atrium , served as the center of family life. About it 
were grouped the bedchambers, bathrooms, dining rooms, 
kitchen, and other apartments of a comfortable mansion. 
Still other rooms occupied the upper stories of the dwelling. 

The ancient Athenian was no sluggard. At sunrise, or even 
before, he rose from his couch, washed his face and hands, put 
Business of on his scanty garments, and was soon ready for 
the forenoon the street. Before leaving the house, he broke 
his fast with a meal as simple as the European “rolls and 
coffee” — in this case merely a few mouthfuls of bread dipped 
in wine. After breakfast he might call on his friends or perhaps 

1 See the illustration, page 145. 


The peristyle 










The Home and Private Life 


261 


ride into the country and visit his estates. About ten o’clock 
(which the Athenians called “full market”), he would be 
pretty sure to find his way to the Agora. The shops at this 
time were crowded with purchasers, and every sociable citizen 
of Athens was to be found in them or in the neighboring colon¬ 
nades which lined the market place. 



Peristyle of a Pompeian House 

House of the Vettii, Pompeii 

The peristyle, excavated in 1894—1895 a . d ., has been carefully restored. The garden, 
fountains, tables, and marble colonnades are all modem. 

The public resorts were deserted at noon, when the Athenian 
returned home to enjoy a light meal and a rest during the heat. 
As the day grew cooler, men again went out and occupations 
visited a gymnasium, such as the Lyceum or the of the after- 
Academy, in the city suburbs. 1 Here were grounds 
for running, wrestling, discus-throwing, and other sports, as 
well as rooms for bathing and anointing. While the younger 
busied themselves in such active exercises, those of 
1 See page 288. 


men 







































262 


Classical Civilization 


maturer years might be content with less vigorous games or 
with conversation on political or philosophical themes. 

The principal meal of the day came about sunset. The 
master of the house, if he had no guests, shared the repast with 
The evening his wife and children. For a man of moderate 
meal means the ordinary fare was very much what it is 

now in Greece — bread, olives, figs, cheese, and a little meat 
as an occasional luxury. At the end of the meal the diners 



From a vase painting by Duris 

refreshed themselves with wine mixed with water. The Greeks 
appear to have been usually as temperate in their drink as they 
were frugal in their food. The remainder of the evening would 
be devoted to conversation and music and possibly a little 
reading. As a rule the Athenian went early to bed. 

A Roman of the higher class, who lived in late republican or 
early imperial times, passed through much the same daily 
Morning routine as an Athenian citizen in the days of Per- 

roundofa icles. He rose at an early hour and after a light 

Roman noble k rea kf as t- dispatched his private business with the 
help of his steward and manager. He then took his place in the 
atrium to meet the crowd of poor dependents who came to pay 
their respects to their patron and to receive their usual morn¬ 
ing alms — either food or sufficient money to buy a modest 
dinner. Having greeted his visitors and perhaps helped them 
in legal or business matters, the noble entered his fitter and 
was carried down to the Forum. Here he might attend the law 





The Home and Private Life 


263 



courts to plead a case for himself or for his clients. If he were a 
member of the Senate, he would take part in the deliberations 
of that body. At eleven o’clock, when the ordinary duties of 
the morning were over, he would return home to eat his 
luncheon and enjoy the midday rest, or siesta. The practice of 
having a nap in the heat 
of the day became so gen¬ 
eral that at noon the 
streets of a Roman city 
had the same deserted 
appearance as at mid¬ 
night. 

After an hour of re¬ 
freshing sleep it was time 
fortheregu- Theaft er- 

lar exercise noon exercise 

, r j and bath 

out of doors 

in the Campus Martius 
or indoors at one of the 
large city baths. Then 
came one of the chief pleasures of a Roman’s existence — the 
daily bath. It was taken ordinarily in one of the public 
bathing establishments, or thermce, to be found in every Ro¬ 
man town . 1 A Roman bath was a luxurious affair. 


A Roman Litter 

The litter consists of an ordinary couch with four 
posts and a pair of poles. Curtains fastened to the 
rod above the canopy shielded the occupant from 
observation. 


After un¬ 


dressing, the bathers entered a warm anteroom and sat for a 
time on benches, in order to perspire freely. This was a pre¬ 
caution against the danger of passing too suddenly into the hot 
bath, which was taken in a large tank of water sunk in the mid¬ 
dle of the floor. Then came an exhilarating cold plunge and 
anointing with perfumed oil. Afterwards the bathers rested on 
the couches with which the resort was supplied and passed the 
time in reading or conversation until the hour for dinner. 

The late dinner, with the Romans as with the Greeks, formed 
the principal meal of the day. It was usually a The late 
social function. The host and his guests reclined dinner 
on couches arranged about a table. The Romans borrowed 


* See page 285. 




Classical Civilization 


264 

from the Greeks the custom of ending a banquet with a sym¬ 
posium, or drinking-bout. The tables were cleared of dishes, 
and the guests were anointed with perfumes and crowned with 
garlands. During the banquet and the symposium it was 
customary for professional performers to entertain the guests 
with music, dancing, pantomimes, and feats of jugglery. 

92. Amusements 


The Athenians celebrated many religious festivals. One of 
Athenian re- mos t important was the Great Panathenaea , 1 


ligious fes¬ 
tivals 


held every fourth year in the month of July. 
Athletic contests and poetical recitations, sacri¬ 
fices, feasts, and processions honored the goddess Athena, who 





► ^ nMKMtK lEnsiSri 

s5^ 






Theater of Dionysus, Athens 

The theater of Dionysus, where dramatic exhibitions were held, lay close to the south¬ 
eastern angle of the Acropolis. The audience at first sat upon wooden benches rising, tier 
after tier, on the adjacent hillside. About the middle of the fourth century b.c. these were 
replaced by the stone seats which are still to be seen. Sixteen thousand people could be 
accommodated in this open-air theater. 

presided over the Athenian city. Even more interesting, per¬ 
haps, were the dramatic performances held in midwinter and in 
spring, at the festivals of Dionysus. The tragedies and com- 

* Panathenaic means “belonging to all the Athenians.” See page 292. 




Amusements 


265 


edies composed for these entertainments took their place among 
the masterpieces of Greek literature. 

There is very little likeness between the ancient and the 
modern drama. Greek plays were performed out of doors in 
the bright sunlight. Until late Roman times it Features of a 
is unlikely that a raised stage existed. The three Greek P la y 
actors and the members of the chorus appeared together in the 
dancing ring, or orchestra. The perform¬ 
ers were all men. Each actor might play 
several parts. There was no elaborate scen¬ 
ery; the spectator had to rely chiefly on his 
own imagination for the setting of the 
piece. The actors indulged in few lively 
movements or gestures. They must have 
looked from a distance like a group of ma¬ 
jestic statues. All wore elaborate costumes, 
and tragic actors, in addition, were made 
to appear larger than human with masks, 
padding, and thick-soled boots, or buskins. 

The performances occupied the three days 
of the Dionysiac festivals, beginning early 
in the morning and lasting till night. 

All this time was necessary because they 
formed contests for a prize which the 
people awarded to the poet and chorus 
whose presentation was judged of highest 
excellence. 

Pantomimes formed the staple amuse¬ 
ment of the Roman theater, pantomime 
In these performances a single and vaude- 
movements ana 



A Dancing Girl 


A Greek bronze statu¬ 
ette found in a sunken 
galley off the coast of 
Tunis'. The galley had 
been wrecked while on its 
way to Rome carrying a 
load of art objects to 
decorate the villas of 
wealthy nobles. This 
statuette was doubtless a 
life-like copy of some well- 
known entertainer. The 
dancer’s pose suggests the 
American “cakewalk” 
and her costume, the 
modem “hobble skirt.” 

dancer, by 

gestures, represented mythological scenes and love stories. The 
actor took several characters in succession and a chorus accom¬ 
panied him with songs. There were also “vaudeville” enter¬ 
tainments, with all manner of jugglers, ropedancers, acrobats, 
and clowns, to amuse a people who found no pleasure in the 
refined productions of the Greek stage. 


266 


Classical Civilization 


Far more popular than even pantomime and vaudeville were 
the “games of the circus.” At Rome these were held chiefly 
Chariot races i n the Circus Maximus. Chariot races formed the 
principal attraction of the circus. There were 
usually four horses to a chariot, though sometimes the drivers 



The Circus Maximus (Restoration) 


showed their skill by handling as many as six or seven horses. 
The contestants whirled seven times around the low wall, or 
spina, which divided the race course. The shortness of the 
stretches and the sharp turns about the spina must have pre¬ 
vented the attainment of great speed. A race, nevertheless, 
was a most exciting sport. What we should call “fouling” was 
permitted and even encouraged. The driver might turn his 
team against another or might endeavor to upset a rival’s car. 
It was a very tame contest that did not have its accompani¬ 
ment of broken chariots, fallen horses, and killed or injured 
drivers. 

The Circus Maximus was often used for a variety of animal 
Animal- shows. Fierce wild beasts, brought from every 
baitings quarter of the empire, were turned loose to slaugh¬ 
ter one another, or to tear to pieces condemned criminals. 1 

1 See page 234 









Amusements 


267 


More popular still were the contests between savage animals 
and men. Such amusements did something to satisfy the lust 
for blood in the Roman populace — a lust which was more 
completely satisfied by the gladiatorial combats. 

Exhibitions of gladiators were known in Italy long before 
they became popular at Rome. The combats probably started 
from the savage practice of sacrificing prisoners Gladiatorial 
or slaves at the funeral of their master. Then the shows 
custom arose of allowing the victims a chance for their lives by 



Gladiators 


From a stucco relief on tbe tomb of Scaurus, Pompeii. Beginning at the left are two 
fully armed horsemen fighting with lances. Behind them are two gladiators, one of whom is 
appealing to the people. Then follows a combat in which the defeated party raises his hand 
in supplication for mercy. The lower part of the relief represents fights with various wild 
beasts. 

having them fight one another, the conquerors being spared 
for future battles. From this it was but a step to keeping 
trained slaves as gladiators. During the imperial epoch the 
number of such exhibitions increased greatly. The emperor 
Trajan, for example, to celebrate his victories over the Dacians, 1 
exhibited no less than ten thousand men within the space of 
four months. The gladiators belonged to various classes, 
1 See page 200. 







268 


Classical Civilization 


according to the defensive armor they wore and the style of 
fighting they employed. When a man was wounded and unable 
to continue the struggle, he might appeal to the spectators. 
He lifted his finger to plead for release; if he had fought well, 
the people indicated their willingness to spare him by waving 
their handkerchiefs. If the spectators were in a cruel mood, they 
turned down their thumbs as the signal for his deathblow. 
These hideous exhibitions continued in different parts of the 
Roman Empire until the fifth century of our era. 

Gladiatorial combats, chariot races, and dramatic shows were 
free performances. For the lower classes in the Roman city 
« Brea( i and they became the chief pleasure of life. The days 
the games of of their celebration were public holidays, which 
e circus. j n ^ f our ^-j 1 ce ntury numbered no less than one 
hundred and seventy-five. The once-sovereign people of Rome 
became a lazy, worthless rabble, fed by the state and amused 
with the games. It was well said by an ancient satirist that the 
Romans wanted only two things to make them happy — “bread 
and the games of the circus.” 1 

93 . Slavery 

The private life of the Greeks and Romans, as described in 
the preceding pages, would have been impossible without the 
Place of slav- existence of a large servile class. Slaves did much 
ery in classi- of the heavy and disagreeable work in the ancient 
world, thus allowing the free citizen to engage in 
more honorable employment or to pass his days in dignified 
leisure. 

The Greeks seem sometimes to have thought that only bar¬ 
barians should be degraded to the condition of servitude. Most 
Sources of Greek slaves, as a matter of fact, were purchased 
slaves from foreign countries. But after the Romans 

had subdued the Mediterranean world, their captives included 
not only members of inferior races, but also the cultivated 
inhabitants of Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor. We hear of 
slaves at Rome who served as clerks, secretaries, librarians, 

1 Panem et circenses (Juvenal,x, 80-81). 



GROUP FROM A FUNERAL MONUMENT 

National Museum, Athens. 


The tombstones {stela), of which many specimens are still extant, especially at Athens, 
must be included among the purest and most delicate productions of Greek art in the fourth 
century b.c. They are all the work of anonymous artists. 







PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN 

One of a series of lifelike pictures found in Egypt between 1886-1896 and now in the Graf 
collection, Vienna. They date from the first and second centuries a.d. This picture, like 
its companions, was painted on a wooden panel and was originally attached to a mummy. 
Such portraits were done with colors ground in heated liquid wax. The process was tedious 
and difficult, and hence was only employed for miniatures. 








Slavery 269 

actors, and musicians. Their education was often superior to 
that of the coarse and brutal masters who owned them. 

The number of slaves, though great enough in Athens and 
other Greek cities, reached almost incredible figures during the 
later period of Roman history. Every victorious Number and 
battle swelled the troops of captives sent to the cheapness of 
slave markets at Rome. Ordinary slaves became 
as cheap as beasts of burden are now. The Roman poet Horace 
tells us that at least ten slaves were necessary for a gentleman 
in even moderate circumstances. Wealthy individuals, given 
to excessive luxury, might number their city slaves by the hun¬ 
dreds, besides many more on their country estates. 

Slaves engaged in a great variety of occupations. They were 
domestic servants, farm laborers, miners, artisans, factory 
hands, and even shopkeepers. Household slaves glaves , tasks 
at Rome were employed in every conceivable way. 

Each part of a rich man’s residence had its special staff of ser¬ 
vants. The possession of a fine troop of slaves, dressed in hand¬ 
some liveries, was a favorite method of showing one’s wealth 
and luxury. 

It is difficult for us to realize the attitude of ancient peoples 
toward their slaves. They were regarded as part of the chattels 
of the house — as on a level with domestic animals Treatment of 
rather than human beings. Though Athenian law slaves 
forbade owners to kill their slaves or to treat them cruelly, it 
permitted the corporal punishment of slaves for slight offenses. 
At Rome, until the imperial epoch, 1 no restraints whatever 
existed upon the master’s power. A slave was part of his prop¬ 
erty with which he could do exactly as he pleased. The terrible 
punishments, the beating with scourges which followed the 
slightest misconduct or neglect of duty, the branding with a 
hot iron which a runaway slave received, the fearful penalty 
of crucifixion which followed an attempt upon the owner’s 
lif e — all these tortures show how hard was the lot of the bond- 
man in pagan Rome. 

A slave, under some circumstances, could gain his freedom. 

» See page 215. 


Classical Civilization 


270 

In Greece, where many little states constantly at war bordered 
Possibilities one another, a slave could often run away to lib- 
of freedom er ty. j n a great empire like Rome, where no 
boundary lines existed, this was usually impossible. Freedom, 
however, was sometimes voluntarily granted. A master in his 

will might liberate 
his favorite slave, as 
a reward for the 
faithful service of a 
lifetime. A more 
common practice per¬ 
mitted the slave to 
keep a part of his 
earnings until he had 
saved enough to 
purchase his freedom. 
Slavery in Greece 
and Italy had existed from the earliest times. It never was 
Permanence more flourishing than in the great age of classical 
of slavery history. Nor did it pass away when the Roman 
world became Christian. The spread of Christianity certainly 
helped to improve the lot of the slave and to encourage his 
liberation. The Church, nevertheless, recognized slavery from 
the beginning. Not until long after ancient civilization had 
perished did the curse of slavery finally disappear from Euro¬ 
pean lands. 

94. Greek Literature 

The literature of Greece begins with epic poetry. An epic 
may be defined as a long narrative in verse, dealing with some 
e . t large and noble theme. The earliest epic poetry of 
the Greeks was inseparable from music. Wander¬ 
ing minstrels sang at feasts in the palaces of kings and accom¬ 
panied their lays with the music of the clear-toned lyre. In 
time, as his verse reached a more artistic character, the singer 
was able to give up the lyre and to depend for effect solely on 
the poetic power of his narrative. Finally, the scattered lays 



A Slave’s Collar 


A runaway slave, if recaptured, was sometimes com¬ 
pelled to wear a metal collar riveted about his neck. One 
of these collars, still preserved at Rome, bears the inscrip¬ 
tion: Servus sum dom(i)ni mei Scholastic! v(iri) sp{ectabilis). 
Tene me ne fugiam de domo .— “I am the slave of my mas¬ 
ter Scholasticus, a gentleman of importance. Hold me, 
lest I flee from home.” 



Greek Literature 


271 


were combined into long poems. The most famous are the 
Iliad and the Odyssey , works which the Greeks attributed to 
Homer. 1 

Several centuries after Homer the Greeks began to create a 
new form of poetic expression — lyric poetry. In short poems, 
accompanied by the flute _ . 

- , ,1 r J Lyric poetry 

or the lyre, they found a 
medium for the expression of personal 
feelings which was not furnished by 
the long and cumbrous epic. The 
greatest lyric poet was Pindar^ W e 
still possess forty-four of his odes, 
which were written in honor of victo¬ 
rious athletes at the Olympian and 
other national games. 2 Pindar’s 
verses were so popular that he be¬ 
came, as it were, the “poet laureate” 
of Greece. When Alexander the 
Great destroyed Thebes, 3 the native 
town of Pindai^ he spared that poet’s 
birthplace from the general ruin. 

The three great masters of the 
tragic drama 4 lived and wrote in 
Athens during the splen- Athenian 
did half century between tragedy 
the Persian and the Peloponnesian 
wars. Such was the fertility of their 
genius that they are said to have writ¬ 
ten altogether nearly three hundred 
plays. Only thirty-two have come 
down to us. i Lschylus^ the first of the tragic poet s, had fought 
at Marathon and Salamis. OneoThis wovYCthe Persians, is a 
magnificent soiig of triumph for the victory of Hellas. Sopho¬ 
cles,. while yet a young man, gained the prize in a dramatic 
' contest with ^Eschylus. His plays mark the perfection of Greek 



Sophocles 

Lateran Museum, Rome 
This marble statue is possibly 
a copy of the bronze original 
which the Athenians set up in 
the theater of Dionysus. The 
feet and the box of manuscript 
rolls are modem restorations. 


1 See page 73. 
* See page 80. 


3 See page 120. 

4 See page 265. 






272 


Classical Civilization 


tragedy. After the death of Sophocles the Athenians revered 
him as a hero and honored his memory with yearly sacrifices. 
Eurip ides was the tinrd _of_the Athenian dramatists and the 
most generally popular. His fame reached far beyond his 
native city. We are told that the Sicilians were so fond of his 
verses that they granted freedom to every one of the Athenian 
prisoners captured at Syracuse who could recite the poet’s lines. 

Athenian comedy during the fifth century b.c. is represented 
by the plays o f Aristophanes. He was both a great poet and a 
Athenian great satirist. In one comedy Aristophanes 
comedy attacks the demagogue Cleon, who was prominent 
in Athenian politics after the death of Pericles. In other come¬ 
dies he ridicules the philosophers, makes fun of the ordinary 
citizen’s delight in sitting on jury courts and trying cases, and 
criticizes those responsible for the unfortunate expedition to 
Sicily. The plays of Aristophanes were performed before ad¬ 
miring audiences of thousands of citizens and hence must have 
had much influence on public opinion. 

The “father of history,” Herodotus, flourished about the 
middle of the fifth cerituryT^c. Though a native of Asia Minor, 
History Herodotus spent some of the best years of his life 

at Athens, mingling in its brilliant society and 
coming under the influences, literary and artistic, of that city. 
He traveled widely in the Greek world and in the East, as a 
preparation for his great task of writing an account of the rise 
of the Oriental nations and the struggle between Greece and 
Persia. Herodotus was not a critical historian, diligently sift¬ 
ing truth from fable. Where he can he gives us facts. Where 
facts are lacking, he tells interesting stories in a most winning 
style. A much more scientific writer was Thucydides , an 
Athenian who lived during the epoch of the Peloponnesian War 
and became the historian of that contest. An Athenian con¬ 
temporary of Thucydides, Xenophon, is best known from his 
A nabasis } which describes the famous expedition of the “Ten 
Thousand” Greeks against Persia. 1 

Of the later prose writers of Greece it is sufficient to name 

1 See page 121. 








Greek Philosophy 273 

only one — the immortal Plutarch. He was a native of Chae- 
ronea in Boeotia and lived during the first century Biography 
of our era. Greece at that time was only a prov¬ 
ince of the Roman Empire; the days of her greatness had long 
since passed away. Plutarch thus had rather a melancholy 
task in writing his Parallel Lives. In this work he relates, first 
the life of an eminent Greek, then of a famous Roman who in 
some way resembled him; and ends the account with a short 
comparison of the two men. Plutarch had a wonderful gift of 
sympathy for his heroes and a keen eye for what was dramatic 
in their careers. It is not surprising, therefore, that Plutarch 
has always been a favorite author. No other ancient writer 
gives us so vivid and intimate a picture of the classical world. 

From the foregoing survey it is clear that the Greeks were 
pioneers in many forms of literature. They first composed 
artistic epic poems. They invented lyric and dra- originality of 
matic poetry. They were the first to write his- Greek litera- 
tories and biographies. In oratory, as has been ure 
seen, they also rose to eminence. 1 We shall now find that the 
Greek intellect was no less fertile and original in the study of 
philosophy. ^ Greek philosophy 

The Greek philosophy took its rise in the seventh century 
B.c., when a few bold students began to search out the myster¬ 
ies of the universe. Their theories were so many The sophists 
and so contradictory, however, that after a time 
philosophers gave up the study of nature and proposed in turn 
to study man himself. These later thinkers were called soph- 
ists. They traveled throughout Greece, gathering the young 
men about them and lecturing for pay on subjects of practical 
interest. Among other things they taught the rhetoric and ora¬ 
tory which were needed for success in a public career. 

One of the founders of Greek philosophy and the greatest 
teacher of his age was Socra tes__the. Athenian. gocrates 
He lived and taught during the period of the 
Peloponnesian War. Socrates resembled the sophists in his 


1 See page 117. 



Classical Civilization 


274 

possession of an inquiring, skeptical mind which questioned 
every common belief and superstition. But he went beyond 
the sophists in his emphasis on problems of every-day morality. 
Though Socrates wrote nothing, his teaching and personality 
made a deep impression on his 
contemporaries. The Delphic 
oracle declared that no one in 
the world was wiser than Soc¬ 
rates. Yet he lived through a 
long life at Athens, a poor man 
who would neither work at his 
trade of sculptor, nof (as did 
the sophists) accept money for 
his instruction. He walked the 
streets, barefoot and half-clad, 
and engaged in animated con¬ 
versation with anyone who was 
willing to discuss intellectual 
subjects with him. Socrates 
must have been a familiar fig¬ 
ure to the Athenians. His short 
body, large, bald head, and 
homely features hardly presented the ideal of a philosopher. 
Even Aristophanes in a comedy laughs at him. 

Late in life Socrates was accused of impiety and of corrupt¬ 
ing the youth of Athens with his doctrines. As a matter of 
Condemnation ^ act was a deeply religious man. If he objected 
and death to the crude mythology of Homer, he often spoke 

of Socrates Q f one q Q( ^ w k 0 m j e( £ wor 14 ? and Q f a divine 

spirit or conscience within his own breast. A jury court found 
him guilty, however, and condemned him to death. He lefused 
to escape from prison when opportunity offered and passed his 
last days in eager conversation on the immortality of the soul. 
When the hour of departure arrived, he bade his disciples 
farewell and calmly drained the cup of hemlock, a poison that 
caused a painless death. Although Socrates gave his life for 
his philosophy, this did not perish with him. 



Socrates 

Vatican Gallery, Rome 


Greek Philosophy 275 

One of the members of the Socratic circle was Plato, a wealthy 
noble who abandoned a public career for the attractions of 
philosophy. After the death of Socrates, Plato 
traveled widely in the Greek world and even 
visited Egypt, where he interviewed the learned priests. On 
his return to Athens Plato began teaching in the garden and 
gymnasium called the Academy. 1 His writings, known as 
Dialogues , are cast in the form of question and answer that 
Socrates had used. In most of them Plato makes Socrates the 
chief speaker. Plato’s works are both profound in thought and 
admirable in style. The Athenians used to say that if Zeus had 
spoken Greek he would have spoken it as did Plato. 

As great a philosopher as Plato, but a far less attractive 
writer, was Aristotle. He was not an Athenian by birth, but 
he passed many years in Athens, first as a pupil of Aristotle 
Plato, who called him the “mind” of the school, 
and then as a teacher in the Athenian city. Aristotle seems to 
have taken all knowledge for his province. He investigated the 
ideas underlying the arts of rhetoric and poetry; he gathered 
the constitutions of many Greek states and drew from them 
some general principles of politics; he studied collections of 
strange plants and animals to learn their structure and habits; 
he examined the acts and beliefs of men in order to write books 
on ethics. In all this investigation Aristotle was not content to 
accept what previous men had written or to spin a pleasing 
theory out of his own brain. Everywhere he sought for facts; 
everything he tried to bring to the test of personal observation. 
Aristotle, then, was as much a scientist as a philosopher. His 
books were reverently studied for centuries after his death and 
are still used in our universities. 

The system of philosophy called Epicureanism was founded 
by a Greek named Epicurus. He taught in Athens during the 
earlier part of the third century b.c. Epicurus Epicureanism 
believed that pleasure is the sole good, pain, the 
sole evil. He meant by pleasure not so much the passing enjoy¬ 
ments of the hour as the permanent happiness of a lifetime. In 

1 See page 261. 



276 


Classical Civilization 


order to be happy men should not trouble themselves with use¬ 
less luxuries, but should lead the “simple life.” They must be 
virtuous, for virtue will bring more real satisfaction than vice. 
Above all, men ought to free themselves from idle hopes and 
fears about a future existence. The belief in the immortality 
of the soul, said Epicurus, is only a delusion, for both soul and 
body are material things which death dissolves into the atoms 
making up the universe. And if there are any gods, he 
declared, they do not concern themselves with human affairs. 
Some of the followers of Epicurus seemed to find in his philo¬ 
sophic system justification for free indulgence in every appetite 
and passion. Even to-day, when we call a person an “Epicu¬ 
rean,” we think of him as a selfish pleasure seeker. 

The noblest of all pagan philosophies was Stoicism, founded 
by Zeno, a contemporary of Epicurus. Virtue, said the Stoic, 
Stoicism consists in living “according to nature,” that is, 
according to the Universal Reason or Divine Prov¬ 
idence that rules the world. The followers of this philosophy 
tried, therefore, to ignore the feelings and exalt the reason as a 
guide to conduct. They practiced self-denial, despised the 
pomps and vanities of the world, and sought to rise above such 
emotions as grief, fear, hope, and joy. The doctrines of Stoi¬ 
cism gained many adherents among the Romans 1 and through 
them became a real moral force in the ancient world. Stoicism 
is even now no outworn creed. Our very word “stoical” is a 
synonym for calm indifference to pleasure or to pain. 

96. Roman Literature 

The beginnings of Roman literature go back to the third 
century" b.c., when some knowledge of the Greek language 
Rise of Ro- became increasingly common in Rome. The 
man litera- earlier writers — chiefly poets and dramatists — 
did little original work, and usually were content 
to translate and adapt the productions of Greek authors for 
Roman audiences. During this period the Romans gradually 
discovered the capabilities of their language for prose composi- 

1 See page 226. 


Roman Literature 


277 


tion. The republican institutions of Rome, like those of 
Athens, were highly favorable to the art of public speaking. 
It was the development of Oratory which did most to mold the 
Latin language into fitness for the varied forms of prose. 

Cicero, the greatest of Roman orators, created a style for 
Latin prose composition which has been admired and imitated 
by men of letters even to our own day. Latin, in c . 
his hands, became a magnificent instrument for the 
expression of human thought. Cicero’s qualities as an author 
are shown, not only by his Orations, but also by the numerous 
Epistles which he wrote to friends and correspondents in all 
parts of the Roman world. Besides their historical interest 
Cicero’s letters are models of what good letters ought to be — 
the expression of the writer’s real thoughts and feelings in sim¬ 
ple, unstilted language. Cicero also composed a number of 
Dialogues, chiefly on philosophical themes. If not very pro¬ 
found, they are delightfully written, and long served as text¬ 
books in the schools. 

Another eminent statesman —Jhfiiua^C^ won success 

in literature. As an orator he was admitted by his contempo¬ 
raries to stand second to Cicero. None of his Cgesar 
speeches have survived. We possess, however, 
his invaluable Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil wars. 
These works, though brief and in most parts rather dull, are 
highly praised for their simple, concise style and their mastery 
of the art of rapid narration. 

The half century included within the Augustan Age marks 
a real epoch in the history of Latin literature. The most fa¬ 
mous poet of this period was Vergil. The JEneid, Vergil and 
which he undertook at the suggestion of Augustus, Horace 
is his best-known work. In form the poem is a narrative of 
the adventures of the Trojan hero, iLneas, 1 but its real theme is 
the growth of Rome under the fostering care of the gods. The 
JEneid, though unfinished at the author’s death, became at once 
what it has always remained — the only ancient epic worthy 
of comparison with the Iliad or with the Odyssey. Another 

1 See page 142. 



Classical Civilization 


278 


member of the Augustan circle was Vergil’s friend and fellow- 
worker, Horace. An imitative poet, Horace reproduced in 
Latin verse the forms, and sometimes even the substance, of 
his Greek models. But, like Vergil, what Horace borrowed he 
made his own by the added beauty which he gave to it. His 
Odes are perhaps the most admirable examples of literary art 
to be found in any language. 

The most famous prose writer of the Augustan Age was Livy. 
His History of Rome , beginning with Romulus and extending 
to Augustus, traced the rise and growth of the 
Roman state during eight centuries of triumphal 
progress. It did in prose what Vergil’s AEneid had done in verse. 

The period of the “Good Emperors” saw the rise of several 
important authors, of whom one, the historian Tacitus, was a 
man of genius. The crowning labor of his life 
was a history of Rome from Tiberius to Domitian. 
Of this work, issued under the two titles of Histories and 
Annals, only about one-half is extant. 

Less than two hundred years separate Cicero and Tacitus. 
During this period Latin authors, writing under the influence 
Survival of Greece, accomplished much valuable work. 

Roman Some of their productions are scarcely inferior to 

the Greek masterpieces. In later centuries, when 
Greek literature was either neglected or forgotten in the West, 
the literature of Rome was still read and enjoyed. Even to-day 
a knowledge of it forms an essential part of a “classical” 
education. 

97. Greek Architecture 


Livy 


Tacitus 


The existing monuments of Greek architecture — chiefly 
ruined temples — afford some idea of its leading characteristics. 
Characters- The building materials were limestone and white 
tics of Greek marble. The blocks of stone were not bound 
1 ure together by cement, but by metal clamps which 
held them in a firm grip. It was usual to color the ornamental 
parts of a temple and the open spaces that served as a back¬ 
ground for sculpture. The Greeks did not employ the principle 
of the arch, in order to cover large spaces with a vaulted ceil- 


Greek Architecture 


279 


ing. Their temples and other public buildings had only flat 
ceilings, resting on long rows of columns. The column probably 
developed from the wooden post or tree trunk used in timber 
construction. The capital at the top of the column originated 
in the square wooden slab which supported the heavy beam of 
the roof. 




Corner of a Doric 
Facade 


Corner of an 
Ionic Facade 


The two Greek orders of architecture, Doric and Ionic, 1 are 
distinguished mainly by differences in the treatment of the col¬ 
umn. The Doric column has no base of its own. The Doric 
The sturdy shaft is grooved lengthwise with some column 
twenty flutings. The capital is a circular band of stone capped 

1 The so-called Corinthian order differs from the Ionic only in its capital. 
























































28o 


Classical Civilization 


by a square block, all without decoration. The mainland of 
Greece was the especial home of the Doric order. This was 
also the characteristic style of southern Italy and Sicily. 

The Ionic column rests upon a base. Its shaft is tall and 
slender. The beautifully carved capital swells outward into 
The Ionic two spiral rolls, the ends of which are curled under 
column to form the “volutes.” The Ionic order flourished 

particularly in Asia Minor. It was well known, too, at Athens. 



a. Corinthian 


b. Composite 
Capitals 



c. Tuscan 



The highly decorative Corinthian capital, modeled on acanthus leaves, came into fashion 
in Alexandrian and Roman times. The Composite capital, as its name indicates, combined 
details from the Ionic and Corinthian into one ornate whole. This and the plain Tuscan 
capital were quite generally employed by the Romans. 


The temple formed the chief structure in a Greek city. It 
was very simple in outline — merely a rectangular building 
Nature of the provided with doors, but without windows. 
Greek temple Around it was a single or a double row of columns. 
Above them rose the architrave, a plain band of massive stones 
which reached from one column to another. Then came the 
frieze, adorned with sculptured reliefs, then the horizontal 
cornice, and at the ends of the building the triangular pedi¬ 
ments formed by the sloping roof. The pediments were 
sometimes decorated with statues. Since the temple was not 
intended to hold a congregation of worshipers, but only to 
contain the image of the god, the interior usually had little 
ornamentation. 

Greek temples were not very large, for hugeness was no 
object to the builders. They were not even lavishly decorated. 

























Restoration 



Present Condition 


THE PARTHENON 

After serving as a temple for about nine centuries, the Parthenon was turned into a Christian 
church, and later into a Mohammedan mosque. In 1687 a.d., the Venetians bombarded Athens 
and sent a shell into the center of the building, which the Turks had used as a powder magazine 
The result was an explosion that threw down the side walls and many of the columns. 
































Figures from the Pediment of the Parthenon 



Groups from the Parthenon Frieze 




Corner of the Parthenon 
(Restored) 


Caryatid Porch of the 
Erechtheum 

















28i 


Greek Sculpture 

Their beauty lies, most of all, in their harmonious proportions 
and perfect symmetry. In the best examples of uniqueness 
the Greek temple there are, for instance, no of the Greek 
straight lines. The columns are not set at equal temple 
intervals, but closer together near the corners of the building. 
The shafts of the columns, instead of tapering upward at a 
uniform rate, swell slightly toward the center. The artistic 
eyes of the Greeks delighted in such subtle curves. These 
characteristics make a classical temple unique of its kind. 1 

98. Greek Sculpture 

The greatest achievement of the Greeks in art was their 
sculpture. Roman artists surpassed them in the The Greek 
creation of massive architectural works; modern genius in 
artists have surpassed them in painting. In sculpture 
sculpture the Greeks still remain unexcelled. 

The existing remains of Greek sculpture are very scanty. 
The statues of gold and ivory vanished long ago. The bronze 
statues, formerly numbered by thousands, have Loss of the 
nearly all gone into the melting pot. Sculptures masterpieces 
in marble were turned into mortar or used as building mate¬ 
rials. Those which escaped such a fate were often ruined by 
wanton mutilation and centuries of neglect. The statues 
which we still possess are mainly marble copies, made in Roman 
times from Greek originals. It is as if the paintings by the old 
masters of Europe, four centuries ago, were now known only in 
the reproductions by modern artists of inferior powers. 

The Greek sculptor worked with a variety of materials. 
Wood was in common use during primitive times. Terra cotta 
was employed at all periods for statuettes a few Materials 
inches in height. Productions in gold and ivory, 
from the costliness of these objects, were extremely rare. Bronze 
was the favorite material of some of the most eminent artists. 
The Greek sculptor especially relied on the beautiful marbles 
in which his country abounded. 

The methods employed by the ancient sculptor differed in 

i For illustrations of Greek temples, see pages 89, 101. 






282 


Classical Civilization 


some respects from those followed by his modern successors. A 
Technical Greek marble statue was usually built up out of 

processes several parts. The joining was accomplished with 

such skill as to escape ordinary observation. The preliminary 
work of hewing out from the rough was done by means of 
chisels. The surface of the marble afterwards received a careful 
polishing with the file, and also with sand. Marble statues 
were always more or less painted. The coloring seems to have 
been done sparingly, being applied, as a rule, only to the 
features and draperies. Still, it is worth while to remember 
that the pure white statues of modern sculptors would not 
have satisfied Greek artists of the classical age. 

Greek sculpture existed in the two forms of bas-reliefs and 
statuary in the round. Reliefs were chiefly used for temple 
Varieties pediments and friezes, and also for the many 
of Greek grave monuments. Statues consisted of the images 
sculpture Q f g 0( £ s se £ U p their shrines, the sculptures 
dedicated as offerings to divinities, and the figures of statesmen, 
generals, and victorious athletes raised in public places and 
sanctuaries. 

This list will show how many were the opportunities which 
the ancient sculptor enjoyed. The service of religion created a 
Importance constant demand for his genius. The numerous 
of the sculp- athletic contests and the daily sports of the gym¬ 
nasium gave him a chance to study living models 
in the handsome, finely-shaped bodies of the contestants. 
With such inspiration it is not remarkable that sculpture 
reached so high a development in ancient Greece. 1 


99. Roman Architecture and Sculpture 

In architecture the Romans achieved preeminence. The 
The arch and tem P les and other public works of Greece seem 
dome in Ro- almost insignificant beside the stupendous edifices 
man buildings ra * se( j R 0 man genius in every province of the 
empire. The ability of the Romans to build on so large a 

1 For illustrations of Greek statues see pages 8o, 8i, 103, 117, 119, 129, 271 
and the plates facing pages 76, 77, 80, 130, 131. 


Roman Architecture and Sculpture 283 

scale arose from their use of vaulted constructions. Knowledge 
of the round arch passed over from the Orient to the Etruscans 
and from them to the Romans . 1 At first the arch was employed 
mainly for gates, drainage sewers, aqueducts, and bridges. 
In imperial times this device was adopted to permit the con¬ 
struction of vast buildings with overarching domes. The 
principle of the dome has inspired some of the finest creations 
of ancient and modern architecture. 

The Romans for many of their buildings made much use of 
concrete. Its chief ingredient was pozzolana, a sand found in 
great abundance near Rome and other sites. Roman use of 
When mixed with lime, it formed a very strong concrete and 
cement. This material was poured in a fluid state ru e 
into timber casings, where it quickly set and hardened. Small 
pieces of stone, called rubble, were also forced down into 
the cement to give it additional stability. Buildings of this 
sort were usually faced with brick, which in turn might be 
covered with thin slabs of marble, thus producing an attractive 
appearance. 

The triumphs of Roman architecture were not confined 
chiefly to sacred edifices. Roman temples, indeed, are mostly 
copies from the Greek. In comparison with their Temples 
originals, they lack grace and refinement. There 
is less accuracy in the masonry fitting and far less careful atten¬ 
tion to details of construction. A frequent departure from 
Greek models is found in the restriction of the rows of pillars to 
the front of the building, while the sides and rear are lined with 
‘‘engaged” columns to give the idea of a colonnade . 2 More 
characteristically Roman are vaulted temples, such as the 
Pantheon , 3 where the circular dome is faced with a Greek 
portico. 

Roman basilicas, of which only the ruins are now in exist¬ 
ence, were once found in every city. These were Basilicas 
large, lofty buildings for the use of judges and 
merchants. The chief feature of a basilica was the spacious 

3 See the illustration, page 202. 


1 See pages 61, 138. 

* See the illustration, page 215. 


284 


Classical Civilization 


central hall flanked by a single or double row of columns, form¬ 
ing aisles and supporting the flat roof. At one end of the hall 

was a semicircular recess 
5 B H ^" the apse — where the 


0Q000BQS0BH0BBB0 0 0 



judges held court. This 
arrangement of the inte¬ 
rior bears a close resem¬ 
blance to the plan of the 
early Christian church 
with its nave, choir (or 
chancel), and columned 
aisles. The Christians, in 
fact, seem to have taken the familiar basilicas as the models 
for their places of worship. 


0 G 0 


Plan of the Ulpian Basilica 

The hall measured 360 feet in length and 180 feet 
in width 



Interior View of the Ulpian Basilica (Restoration) 

Built by the Emperor Trajan in connection with his Forum at Rome 


Aqueducts 


Perhaps the most imposing, and certainly among the most 
useful, of Roman structures were aqueducts. 1 
There were sixty-eight in Italy and the provinces. 
No less than fourteen supplied the capital city with water. 

1 See the illustrations, pages 157, 285. 





































Roman Architecture and Sculpture 285 


The aqueducts usually ran under the surface of the ground, as 
do our water pipes. They were carried on arches only across 
depressions and valleys. The Claudian aqueduct ran for 
thirty-six miles underground and for nine and a half miles on 
arches. Though these monuments were intended simply as en¬ 
gineering works, their heavy masses of rough masonry produce 
an inspiring sense of power. 



A Roman Aqueduct 

The Pont du Card near Nimes (ancient Nemausus) in southern France Built by the 
emperor Antoninus Pius. The bridge spans two hilltops nearly a thousand feet: apart. It 
carries an aqueduct with three tiers of massive stone arches at a height of 160 feet above the 
stream. This is the finest and best-preserved aqueduct in existence. 


The abundant water supply furnished by the aqueducts was 
connected with a system of great public baths, or therm*. 
Scarcely a town or village throughout the empire Thermae 
lacked one or more such buildings. Those at 
Rome were constructed on a scale of magnificence of which we 
can form but a slight conception from the ruins now in exist¬ 
ence. In addition to many elaborate arrangements for t e 
bathers, the therm* included lounging and reading rooms, 
libraries, gymnasia, and even museums and galleries of art. 

1 See page 263. 









286 


Classical Civilization 



Interior 

The Colosseum 

The baths, indeed, were splendid clubhouses, open at little or 
no expense to every citizen of the metropolis. 

A very characteristic example of Roman building is found in 
Triumphal the triumphal arches. 1 Their sides were adorned 
columns^ witb bas " reliefs > which pictured the principal scenes 
of a successful campaign. Memorial structures, 
called columns of victory, 2 were also set up in Rome and other 

t See the illustration, page 236. * See the illustrations, pages 163, 201. 









Roman Architecture and Sculpture 287 

cities* Both arch and column have been frequently imitated 
by modern architects. 

The palaces of Roman emperors and nobles, together with their 

luxurious country houses, or villas, have all disappeared. A like 

fate has befallen the enor- Circuses> 

mOUS circuses, SUCh as the theaters, and 
r . 1 - amphitheaters 

Circus Maximus 1 at Rome 
and the Hippodrome 2 at Constantino¬ 
ple. The Roman theaters that still 
survive reproduce, in most respects, the 
familiar outlines of the Greek struc¬ 
tures. In the amphitheaters, where 
animal shows and gladiatorial combats 
were exhibited, we have a genuinely 
Roman invention. The gigantic edi¬ 
fice, called the Colosseum, in its way 
as truly typifies Roman architectural 
genius as the Parthenon represents at 
its best that of the Greeks. 

Roman sculpture owed much to 
Greek models. However, the portrait 
statues and bas-reliefs show originality and illustrate the ten¬ 
dency of the Romans toward realism in art. The Roman 
sculptor tried to represent an historic person as he sculpture 
really looked or an historic event, for example, a battle or a 
triumphal procession, as it actually happened. The portrait 
statues of Roman emperors and the bas-reliefs from the arch 
of Titus impress us at once with a sense of their reality. 

Our knowledge of Roman painting is almost wholly confined 
to the wall paintings found at Rome, Herculaneum, and Pom¬ 
peii. What has survived is apparently the work wailpaint- 
of ordinary craftsmen, who, if not Greeks, were ings 
deeply affected by the Greek spirit. Most of the scenes they 
depict are taken from classical mythology. The coloring is 
very rich; and the peculiar shade of red used \s known to-day by 
the name of “Pompeian red.” The practice of mural painting 

1 See the illustration, page 266. 2 See the illustration, page 339. 



A Roman Came!) 


Portrait of a youth cut in 
sardonyx. Probably of the first 
century a.d. 


288 


Classical Civilization 


passed over from the Romans to European artists, who 
have employed it in the frescoes of medieval and modern 
churches. 

100. Artistic Athens 

Athens and Rome were the artistic centers of the classical 
world. Architects, sculptors, and painters lavished their finest 
Art centers of efforts on the adornment of these two capitals, 
antiquity Here there are still to be seen some of the most 
beautiful and impressive monumments of antiquity. 

Athens lies in the center of the Attic plain, about four miles 
from the sea. 1 The city commands a magnificent view of 
Roads and purple-hued mountains and the shining waters 

suburbs of of the ^Egean. Roads approached the ancient 

city from all parts of Attica. Among these were 
the highway from Piraeus, running between the Long Walls, 2 
and the Sacred Way from Eleusis, where the famous mysteries 
were yearly celebrated. 3 The suburbs of Athens included the 
Outer Ceramicus, part of which was used as a national ceme¬ 
tery, and a pleasure ground and gymnasium on the banks of 
the Cephissus, called the Academy. Another resort, known as 
the Lyceum, bordered the little stream of the Ilissus. 

The traveler who passed through these suburbs came at 
length to the great wall, nearly five miles in circumference, 
Walls of raised by Themistocles to surround the settle- 
Athens ment at the foot of the Acropolis. 4 The area 

included within this wall made up Old Athens. About six cen¬ 
turies after Themistocles the Roman emperor Hadrian, by 
building additional fortifications on the east, brought an exten¬ 
sive quarter, called New Athens, inside the city limits. 

The region within the walls was broken up by a number of 
rocky eminences which have a prominent place in the topogra- 
Hiiis of phy of Athens. Near the center the Acropolis 

Athens rises more than two hundred feet above the plain, its 

summit crowned with monuments of the Periclean Age. Not 
far away is the hill called the Areopagus. Here the Council of 


1 See the map, page 107. 

2 See page 108. 


3 See page 227. 

4 See page 100. 


Artistic Athens 


289 



Phafenum 


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290 


Classical Civilization 


the Areopagus, a court of justice in trials for murder, held its 
deliberations in the open air. Beyond this height is the hill of 
the Pnyx. This was the meeting place of the Athenian Assembly 
until the fourth century b.c., when the sessions were transferred 
to the theater of Dionysus. 

The business and social center of an ancient city was the 
agora or market place. The Athenian Agora lay in the hollow 
The Agora nor th of the Areopagus and Acropolis. The 
square was shaded by rows of plane trees and lined 
with covered colonnades. In the great days of the city, when 
the Agora was filled with countless altars and shrines, it pre¬ 
sented a most varied and attractive scene. 

Not all the splendid structures in Athens were confined to the 
Agora and the Acropolis. On a slight eminence not far from 
Public the Agora, rose the so-called “Theseum,” 1 a marble 

buildings temple in the Doric order. Another famous tem¬ 

ple, the colossal edifice known as the Olympieum, lay at some 
distance from the Acropolis on the southeast. Fifteen of the lofty 
columns with their Corinthian capitals are still standing. The 
theater of Dionysus 2 is in a fair state of preservation. Beyond 
this are the remains of the Odeum, or “Hall of Song,” used for 
musical contests and declamations. The original building was 
raised by Pericles, in imitation, it is said, of the tent of Xerxes. 
The present ruins are those of the structure erected in the second 
century a.d. by a public-spirited benefactor of Athens. 

The adornment of the Acropolis formed perhaps the most 
memorable achievement of Pericles. 3 This rocky mount was 
The approached on the western side by a flight of sixty 

Acropolis marble steps. To the right of the stairway rose 

a small but very beautiful Ionic temple dedicated to Athena. 
Having mounted the steps, the visitor passed through the su¬ 
perb entrance gate, or Propylaea, which was constructed to 
resemble the front of a temple with columns and pediment. 
Just beyond the Propylaea stood a great bronze statue of the 
Guardian Athena, a masterpiece of the sculptor Phidias. 


1 See the illustration, page ioi. 

2 See the illustration, page 264. 


3 See page 108. 


Propylaea 

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS (Restoration) 



Erectheum Statue oi Athena Parthenon 



















































Propylaea Erechtbeum Parthenon Mt. Lycabettus 



ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS FROM THE SOUTHWEST 














Artistic Athens 


291 


The Erechtheum, a temple which occupies part of the Acrop¬ 
olis, is in the Ionic style. It may be regarded as the best exist¬ 
ing example of this light and graceful order. The Erech- 
Perhaps the most interesting feature is the porch theum 
of the Caryatides, with a marble roof supported by six pillars 
carved in the semblance of maidens. 1 This curious but strik¬ 
ing device has been often copied by modern architects. 

The other temple on the Acropolis is the world-famed edifice 
known as the Parthenon, 
the shrine of 
the Virgin 
Athena. 2 

The Parthenon illustrates 
the extreme simplicity of 
a Greek temple. It had 
no great size or height and 
included only two cham¬ 
bers. The rear room 
stored sacred vessels and furniture used in worship, state treas- 


Architecture 
of the 
Parthenon 



Plan of the Parthenon 

The larger room (cella) measured exactly one 
hundred feet in length. 


ure, and the more valuable offerings intrusted to the goddess for 
safekeeping. The second and larger room contained a colossal 
gold and ivory statue of Athena, the work of Phidias. It faced 
the eastern entrance so that it might be bathed in the rays of 
the rising sun. Apart from the large doors a certain amount of 
light reached the interior through the semi-transparent marble 
tiles of the roof. The Doric columns surrounding the building 
are marvels of fine workmanship. The Parthenon, because of 
its perfection of construction and admirable proportions, is 
justly regarded as a masterpiece of architecture. 

The Parthenon was also remarkable for its sculptures 3 
executed under the superintendence of Phidias. The subjects 
of the pediment sculptures are taken from the sculptures of 
mythic history of Athena. The frieze of the Par- the Parthe- 
thenon consists of a series of sculptured slabs, 
over five hundred feet in length. The subject was the proces- 


3 See the plate facing page 281 


1 See the plate facing page 281. 

2 See the plate facing page 280. 



























2g2 


Classical Civilization 


sion of the Great Panathenaea, 1 the principal festival in honor 
of Athena. At this time the sacred robe of the goddess, woven 
anew for each occasion, was brought to adorn her statue. The 
procession is thought of as starting from the western front, 
where Athenian youths dash forward on their spirited steeds. 
Then comes a brilliant array of maidens, matrons, soldiers, and 
luteplayers. Near the center of the eastern front they meet a 
group of divinities, who are represented as spectators of the 
imposing scene. This part of the frieze is still in excellent con¬ 
dition. 

It was, indeed, a splendid group of buildings that rose on the 
Acropolis height. If to-day they have lost much of their glory, 
The glory we can still understand how they were the precious 

of Athens possession of the Athenians and the wonder of 

all the ancient world. “O shining, violet-crowned city of song, 
great Athens, bulwark of Hellas, walls divine! ” The words are 
those of an old Greek poet, 2 but they are reechoed by all who 
have come under the magic spell of the literature and art of the 
Athenian city. 

101 . Artistic Rome 

The monuments of Rome, unlike those of Athens, cannot lay 
claim to great antiquity. The destruction wrought by the 
Destruction Gauls in 390 b.c. and the great fire under Nero in 
64 a.d. removed nearly all traces of the regal and 
republican city. Many buildings erected in the 
imperial age have also disappeared, because in medieval and 
modern times the inhabitants of Rome used the ancient edi¬ 
fices as quarries. The existing monuments give only a faint 
idea of the former magnificence of the capital city. 

The city of Rome lies on the Tiber. Where the river ap¬ 
proaches Rome it makes two sharp turns, first to the west and 
Hills of then to the east. On the western, or Etruscan, 

R° me bank stood the two hills called Vatican and Janic- 

ulum. They were higher than the famous seven which rose 
on the eastern side, where the ancient city was built. Two of 

1 See page 264. 


of ancient 
Rome 


2 Pindar, Fragments , 76. 


Artistic Rome 


293 

































2 Q 4 


Classical Civilization 


these seven hills possess particular interest. The earliest settle¬ 
ment, as we have seen, 1 probably occupied the Palatine. It 
became in later days the favorite site for the town houses of 
Roman nobles. In the imperial age the splendid palaces of the 
Caesars were located here. The Capitoline, steepest of the 
seven hills, was divided into two peaks. On one of these rose 
the most famous of all Roman temples, dedicated to Jupiter and 
his companion deities, Juno and Minerva. The other peak was 
occupied by a large temple of Juno Moneta (“the Adviser”), 
which served as the mint. The altars, shrines, and statues which 
once covered this height were so numerous that the Capitoline, 
like the Athenian Acropolis, became a museum of art. 

Rome in early times was surrounded by a wall which bore the 
name of its legendary builder, Servius Tullius. The present 
Walls and fortifications were not constructed until the reign 
open spaces 0 f th e emperor Aurelian. 2 The ancient city was 
closely built up, with only two great open spaces, in addition 
to the Forum. These were the Circus Maximus, in the hollow 
between the Palatine Mount and the Aventine, and the Campus 
Martius, stretching along the Tiber to the northwest of the 
Capitoline Hill. 

Following the map of ancient Rome under the empire we 
may note the more important monuments which still exist in 
Public something like their original condition. Across 

buildings the Tiber and beyond the Campus Martius stands 
the mausoleum of Hadrian. 3 The most notable structure in the 
Campus Martius is the Pantheon. 4 It is the one ancient build¬ 
ing in the entire Roman world which still survives, inside and 
out, in a fair state of preservation. The depression between the 
Caelian and Esquiline hills contains the Flavian Amphitheater, 
better known as the Colosseum. 5 It was begun by Vespasian 
and probably completed by Titus. No less than eighty 
entrances admitted the forty-five thousand spectators who 
could be accommodated in this huge structure. Despite the 


1 See page 140. 

2 See the illustration, page 220. 

3 Sea the illustration, page 203. 


4 See the illustration, page 202. 
6 See the illustration, page 286. 



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THE ROMAN FORUM AT THE PRESENT TIME 


















Artistic Rome 


295 


enormous mass of the present ruins probably two-thirds of the 
original materials have been carried away to be used in other 
buildings. Close to the Colosseum stands the arch 1 erected by 
the Senate in honor of the victory of Constantine over his rival 
Maxentius. From this event is dated the triumph of Chris¬ 
tianity in the Roman state. The ruins of the huge baths of 
Caracalla he about half a mile from the Colosseum. Near the 
center of the city are the remains of the Forum added by Tra¬ 
jan to the accommodations of the original Forum. It contains 
the column of Trajan 2 under which that emperor was buried. 

The Forum lies in the valley north of the Palatine Hill. It 
was the business and social center of the Roman city. During 
the Middle Ages the site was buried in ruins The Forum 
and rubbish, in some places to a depth of forty 
feet or more. Recent excavations have restored the ancient 
level and uncovered the remains of the ancient structures. 

The Forum could be approached from the east by one of the 
most famous streets in the world, the Roman Sacred Way. 
The illustration of the Forum at the present Approach to 
time gives a view, looking eastward from the Cap- the Forum 
itoline Mount, and shows several of the buildings on or near 
the Sacred Way. At the left are seen the ruins of the basilica 
of Constantine. Farther in the distance the Colosseum looms 
up. Directly ahead is the arch of Titus, which commemorates 
the capture of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. 3 The ruins of the palaces 
of the Caesars occupy the slopes of the Palatine. 

The only well-preserved monument in the Forum is the beau¬ 
tiful arch erected by the emperor Septimius Severus. Beyond 
it are three columns which once formed part of The Forum 
the temple of Castor. They date from the time of t0 - day 
Tiberius. In front are the foundations of the Basilica Julia, 
built by Augustus. Next come eight Ionic columns, all that 
remain of the temple of Saturn. Near it and in tne foreground 
are several columns in the Corinthian style, belonging to a 
temple built by Vespasian. 


1 See the illustration, page 236. 
* See the illustration, page 201. 


3 See the plate facing page 198. 


Classical Civilization 


296 


These ruined monuments, these empty foundations and 
lonely pillars, afford little idea of all the wealth of architecture 
The Fomm that once adorned this spot. Here stood the 
in antiquity circular shrine of Vesta, 1 guarding the altar and 
its ever-blazing fire. Here was the temple of Concord, famous 
in Roman history. 2 The Senate-house was here, and just be¬ 
fore it, the Rostra, a platform adorned with the beaks ( rostra ) 
of captured ships. From this place Roman orators addressed 
their assembled fellow-citizens. 

How splendid a scene must have greeted an observer in an¬ 
cient times who, from the height of the Capitol, gazed at the 
The grandeur city before him. The Forum was then one radiant 
of Rome avenue of temples, triumphal arches, columns, and 
shrines. And beyond the Forum stretched a magnificent array 
of theaters and amphitheaters, enormous baths, colossal sepul¬ 
chers, and statues in stone and bronze. So prodigious an 
accumulation of objects beautiful, costly, and rare has never 
before or since been found on earth. 



/ Rf> 


Studies 


x. What is the origin of our words pedagogue, symposium, circus, and 
academy ? 2. Make a list of such Roman names as you have met in your reading. 
3. Write a letter describing an imaginary visit to the theater of Dionysus during 
the performance of a tragedy. 4. What did civic patriotism mean to the Greek and 
to the Roman? 5. Have we anything to learn from the Greeks about the im¬ 
portance of training in music? 6. What were the schoolbooks of Greek boys? 

7. What features of Athenian education are noted in the illustration, page 254? 

8. How did the position of women at Athens differ from their position in Homeric 

Greece? 9. Why does classical literature contain almost no “love stories,” or 
novels? 10. What contrasts exist between the ancient and the modern house? 
xi. Describe a Roman litter (illustration, page 263). 12. What differences exist 

between an ancient and a modern theatre? 13- What features of our circus” 
recall the proceedings at the Roman games? 14. How many holidays (including 
Sundays) are there in your state? How do they compare in number with those 
at Rome in the reign of Marcus Aurelius? 15. Describe the theater of Diony¬ 
sus (illustration, page 264). 16. What is the “Socratic method” of teaching? 

17. How did the Greeks manage to build solidly without the use of mortar? 18. 
Discuss the appropriateness of the terms: severe Doric; graceful Ionic; ornate Corin¬ 
thian. 19. Can you find examples of any of the Greek orders in public buildings 
familiar to you? 20. How do you explain the almost total loss of original Greek 
sculptures? 21. By reference to the illustrations, page 279, explain the following 


1 See page 146. 


2 See page 177. 


Artistic Rome 


297 


terms: shaft; capital; architrave; frieze; and cornice. 22. Explain the “Greek 
profile” seen in the Aphrodite of Cnidus and the Apollo of the Belvedere (plate 
facing page 76). 23. Name five famous works of Greek sculpture which exist to¬ 

day only in Roman copies. 24. What is your favorite Greek statue? Why do you 
like it? 25. “The dome, with the round arch out of which it sprang, is the most 
fertile conception in the whole history of building.” Justify this statement. 26. 
What famous examples of domed churches and public buildings are familiar to you? 

27. What artistic objections to the use of “engaged columns” can you mention? 

28. Discuss the revival of cement construction in modem times. What are its 
special advantages? 29. What examples of triumphal arches in the United States 
and France are known to you? 30. Do you know of any modem columns of vic¬ 
tory? 31. Why is it likely that the bust of Nerva (illustration, page 200) is a more 
faithful likeness than that of Pericles (illustration, page 103)? 32. Write a brief 
essay describing an imaginary walk on the Athenian Acropolis in the Age of Pericles. 
33. Enumerate the most important contributions to civilization made in classical 
antiquity. 


CHAPTER XIII 


WESTERN EUROPE DURING THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES, 
476-962 A.D. 1 


The Ostro¬ 
goths under 
Theodoric 


102. The Ostrogoths in Italy, 488-553 A.D. 

We are not to suppose that the settlement of Germans 
within the Roman Empire ended with the deposition of Romu- 
Transition to * us Augustulus, near the close of the fifth century, 
the Middle The following centuries witnessed fresh invasions 
and the establishment of new Germanic states. 
The study of these troubled times leads us from the classical 
world to the world of medieval Europe, from the history of 
antiquity to the history of the Middle Ages. 

The kingdom which Odoacer established on Italian soil did 
not long endure. It was soon overthrown by the Ostrogoths. 

At the time of the “fall” of Rome in 476 a.d. 
they occupied a district south of the middle 
Danube, which the government at Constantinople 
had hired them to defend. The Ostrogoths proved to be expen¬ 
sive and dangerous allies. When, therefore, their chieftain, 
Theodoric, offered to lead his people into Italy and against 
Odoacer, the Roman emperor gladly sanctioned the undertaking. 

Theodoric led the Ostrogoths — Women and children as well 
as warriors — across the Alps and came down to meet Odoacer 
and his soldiers in battle. After suffering several 
defeats, Odoacer shut himself up in the strong 
fortress of Ravenna. Theodoric could not capture 
the place and at last agreed to share with Odoacer 
the government of Italy, if the latter would surrender. The 
agreement was never carried into effect. When Theodoric 
entered Ravenna, he invited Odoacer to a great feast and at 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter i, “Stories of the 
Lombard Kings”; chapter ii, “Charlemagne.” 

298 


Ostrogothic 
invasion of 
Italy, 488- 
493 A.D. 


The Ostrogoths in Italy 299 

its conclusion slew him in cold blood. Theodoric had now 
no rival in Italy. 

Though Theodoric gained the throne by violence and treach¬ 
ery, he soon showed himself to be, as a ruler, wise, broad-minded, 
and humane. He had lived as a youth in the Theodoric, 
imperial court at Constantinople and there had kingofltaiy, 
become well acquainted with Roman ideas 01 law 
and order. Roman civilization impressed him; and he wished 



Tomb or Theodoric at Ravenna 


A two-storied marble building erected by Theodoric in imitation of a Roman tomb- 
The roof is a single block of marble, 33 feet in diameter and weighing more than 300 tons. 
Theodoric’s body was subsequently removed from its resting place, and the mausoleum was 
converted into a church. . 

not to destroy but to preserve it. Theodoric reigned in Italy for 
thirty-three years, and during this time the country enjoyed 
unbroken peace and prosperity. 

The enlightened policy of Theodoric was exhibited in many 
ways. He governed Ostrogoths and Romans with equal con¬ 
sideration. He kept all the old offices, such as Theodoric’^ 
the senatorship and the consulate, and by pref- . 
erence filled them with men of Roman birth. His chief 
counselors were Romans. A legal code, which he drew up for 
the use of Ostrogoths and Romans alike, contained only selec¬ 
tions from Roman law. He was remarkably tolerant and, in 




300 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

spite of the fact that the Ostrogoths were Arians, 1 was always 
ready to extend protection to Catholic Christians. Theod- 
oric patronized literature and gave high positions to Roman 
writers. He restored the cities of Italy, had the roads and 
aqueducts repaired, and so improved the condition of agri¬ 
culture that Italy, from a wheat-importing, became a wheat¬ 
exporting, country. At Ravenna, the Ostrogothic capital, 
Theodoric erected many notable buildings, including a palace, 
a mausoleum, and several churches. The remains of these 
structures are still to be seen. 

The influence of Theodoric reached far beyond Italy. He 
allied himself by marriage with most of the Germanic rulers 
Theodoric’s the West. His second wife was a Frankish 
foreign princess, his sister was the wife of a Vandal chief¬ 

tain, one of his daughters married a king of the 
Visigoths, and another daughter wedded a Burgundian king. 
Theodoric by these alliances brought about friendly relations 
between the various barbarian peoples. It seemed, in fact, as 
if the Roman dominions in the West might' again be united 
under a single ruler; as if the Ostrogoths might be the Ger¬ 
manic people to carry on the civilizing work of Rome. But 
no such good fortune was in store for Europe. 

Theodoric died in 526 a.d. The year after his death, a great 
emperor, Justinian, came to the throne at Constantinople. 
End of the J us tinian had no intention of abandoning to the 
Ostrogothic Germans the rich provinces of Sicily and Italy, 
kingdom, 553 Although the Ostrogoths made a stubborn resist¬ 
ance to his armies, in the end they were so com¬ 
pletely overcome that they agreed to withdraw from the Italian 
peninsula. The feeble remnant of their nation filed sadly 
through the passes of the Alps and, mingling with other bar¬ 
barian tribes, disappeared from history. 

103. The Lombards in Italy, 568-774 A.D. 

The destruction of the Ostrogothic kingdom did not free 
Italy of the Germans. Soon after Justinian’s death the country 

1 See page 236. 


The Lombards in Italy 


3° i 




Europe in the Sixth Century 
























302 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

was again overrun, this time by the Lombards. The name of 

these invaders (in Latin, Langobardi) may have been derived 

Invasion of from the long beards that gave them such a fero- 

itaiy by the cious aspect. The Lombards were the last of the 
Lombards ^ . , . , . 

Germanic peoples to quit their northern wilder¬ 
ness and seek new homes in sunny Italy. They seized the 
territory north of the river Po — a region ever since known 
as Lombardy — and established their capital at Pavia. The 
Lombards afterwards made many settlements in central and 
southern Italy, but never succeeded in subduing the entire 
peninsula. 

The rule of the Lombards at first bore hardly on Italy, which 
they treated as a conquered land. In character they seem to 
Lombard have been far less attractive than their predeces- 
rule in Italy sorSj the vj s j goths and Ostrogoths. Many of 
them were still heathen when they entered Italy and others 
were converts to the Arian 1 form of Christianity. In course 
of time, however, the Lombards accepted Roman Catholi¬ 
cism and adopted the customs of their subjects. They even 
forgot their Germanic language and learned to speak Latin. 
The Lombard kingdom lasted over two centuries, until it 
was overthrown by the Franks. 2 

The failure of the Lombards to conquer all Italy had im¬ 
portant results in later history. Sicily and the extreme southern 
Results of part of the Italian peninsula, besides large dis- 

barc/invasion Containin S the cities of Naples, Rome, 

Genoa, Venice, and Ravenna, continued to belong 
to the Roman Empire in the East. The rulers at Constanti¬ 
nople could not exercise effective control over their Italian 
possessions, now that these were separated from one another 
by the Lombard territories. The consequence was that Italy 
broke up into a number of small and practically independent 
states, which never combined into one kingdom until our own 
time. The ideal of a united Italy waited thirteen hundred 
years for its realization. 3 

1 See page 236. * See page 309. 

* The modem kingdom of Italy dates from 1861-1870 a.d. 


The Franks under Clovis and his Successors 303 


104. The Franks under Clovis and His Successors 


We have already met the Franks in their home on the lower 
Rhine, from which they pushed gradually into Roman terri¬ 
tory . 1 In 486 a.d., just ten years after the deposi- Clovis, king 
tion of Romulus Augustulus, the Franks went 


of the 

Franks, 481- 


forth to conquer under Clovis , 2 one of their chief- 511 A.D. 
tains. By overcoming the governor of Roman Gaul, in a 
battle near Soissons, Clovis destroyed the last vestige of impe¬ 
rial rule in the West and extended the Frankish dominions to 
the river Loire. Clovis then turned against his German neigh¬ 
bors. East of the Franks, in the region now known as Alsace, 
lived the Alamanni, a people whose name still survives in the 
French name of Germany . 3 The Alamanni were defeated in a 
great battle near Strassburg (496 a.d.), and much of their 
territory was added to that of the Franks. Clovis subsequently 
conquered the Visigothic possessions between the Loire and 
the Pyrenees, and compelled the Burgundians to pay tribute. 
Thus Clovis made himself supreme over nearly the whole of 
Gaul and even extended his authority to the other side of the 
Rhine. This great work entitles him to be called the founder 
of the French nation. 

Clovis reigned in western Europe as an independent king, 
but he acknowledged a sort of allegiance to the Roman emperor 
by accepting the title of honorary consul. Hence- The Franks 
forth to the Gallo-Romans he represented the and the 
distant ruler at Constantinople. The Roman in- F ^ a ' ns 
habitants of Gaul were not oppressed; their cities 
were preserved; and their language and laws were undis¬ 
turbed. Clovis, as a statesman, may be compared with his 
eminent contemporary, Theodoric the Ostrogoth. 

The Franks were still a heathen people, when they began 


1 See page 245. 

2 His name is properly spelled Chlodweg, which later became Ludwig, and in 
French, Louis. 

3 Allemagne. On the other hand, the inhabitants of Gaul came to call their 
country France and themselves Franqais after their conquerors, the Germanic 
Franks. 



304 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

their career of conquest. Clovis, however, had married a 
Burgundian princess, Clotilda, who was a devout Catholic and 
. . . an ardent advocate of Christianity. The story is 

Chnstiamza- . / 

tion of the told how, when Clovis was hard-pressed by the 

Franks, 496 Alamanni at the battle of Strassburg, he vowed that 
if Clotilda’s God gave him victory he would be¬ 
come a Christian. The Franks won, and Clovis, faithful to his 



vow, had himself baptized by St. Remi, bishop of Reims. 
“Bow down thy head,” spoke the bishop, as the Frankish 
king approached the font, “adore what thou hast burned, 
burn what thou has adored.” 1 With Clovis were baptized on 
that same day three thousand of his warriors. 

The conversion of Clovis was an event of the first importance. 
He and his Franks naturally embraced the orthodox Catholic 
faith, which was that of his wife, instead of the Arian form 
of Christianity, which had been accepted by almost all the 

1 Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, ii, 31. 
























The Franks under Charles Martel 


305 


other Germanic invaders. Thus, by what seems the merest 
accident, Catholicism, instead of Arianism, became the religion 
of a large part of western Europe. More than significance 
this, the conversion of Clovis gained for the of Clovis’s 
Frankish king and his successors the support of conversion 
the Roman Church. The friendship between the popes and 
the Franks afterwards ripened into a close alliance which 
greatly influenced European history. 

The descendants of Clovis are called Merovingians . 1 They 
occupied the throne of the Franks for nearly two hundred and 
fifty years. The annals of their reigns form an The earlier 
unpleasant catalogue of bloody wars, horrible Merovingian 
murders, and deeds of treachery without number. 1111188 
Nevertheless, the earlier Merovingians were strong men, under 
whose direction the Frankish territory continued to expand, 
until it included nearly all of what is now France, Belgium, and 
Holland, besides a considerable part of Germany. 

The Frankish conquests differed in two important respects 
from those of the other Germanic peoples. In the first place, 
the Franks did not cut themselves off completely Character of 
from their original homes. They kept permanently the Frankish 
• their territory in Germany, drawing from it con¬ 
tinual reinforcements of fresh German blood. In the second 
place, the Franks steadily added new German lands to their 
possessions. They built up in this way what was the largest 
and the most permanent of all the barbarian states founded on 
the ruins of the Roman Empire. 

105. The Franks under Charles Martel and Pepin the Short 

After the middle of the seventh century the Frankish rulers, 
worn out by violence and excesses, degenerated into weaklings, 
who reigned but did not rule. The actual manage- j ater 
ment of the state passed into the hands of officers, ]^®g° vinsian 
called “ mayors of the palace.” They left to the 
kings little more than their title, their long hair, — the badge 
of royalty among the Franks, — and a scanty allowance for their 
1 From Merovech, grandfather of Clovis. 


306 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

support. The later Merovingians, accordingly, are often known 
as the “do-nothing kings.” 

The most illustrious of these mayors was Charles, surnamed 
Martel, “the Hammer,” from the terrible defeat which he 
Charles administered to the Mohammedans near Tours, 
Martel i n central France. Charles Martel was virtually 

a king, but he never ventured to set aside the Merovingian ruler 
and himself ascend the throne. This step was taken, however, 
by Charles’s son, Pepin the Short. 

Before dethroning the last feeble “do-nothing,” Pepin sought 
the approval of the bishop of Rome. The pope, without hesi¬ 
tation, declared that it was only right that the 
man who had the real authority in the state 
should have the royal title also. Pepin, accord¬ 
ingly, caused himself to be crowned king of the 
Franks, thus founding the Carolingian 1 dynasty 
(751 a.d.). Three years later Pope Stephen II came to Pepin’s 
court and solemnly anointed the new ruler with holy oil, in 
accordance with ancient Jewish custom. The rite of anointing, 
something unknown to the Germans, gave to Pepin’s coronation 
the sanction of the Roman Church. Henceforth the Frankish 
sovereigns called themselves “kings by the grace of God.” 

Pepin was soon able to repay his great obligation to the Roman 
Church by becoming its protector against the Lombards. 
“Donation of These barbarians, who were trying to extend their 
75 6*AD rule in Italy ’ threatened to capture Rome and 

the territory in the vicinity of that city, then 
under the control of the pope. Pepin twice entered Italy with 
his army, defeated the Lombards, and forced them to cede to 
Pope Stephen an extensive district lying between Rome and 
Ravenna. Pepin might have returned this district to the 
emperor at Constantinople, to whom it had belonged, but the 
Frankish king declared that he had not fought for the advantage 
of any man but for the welfare of his own soul. He decided, 

1 So called from Pepin’s son, Charles the Great (in Latin, Carolus Magnus ). 
The French form of his name is Charlemagne. 


Pepin the 
Short be¬ 
comes king 
of the 
Franks, 

751 A.D. 


3°7 


The Reign of Charlemagne 

therefore, to bestow his conquests on St. Peter’s representative, 
the pope. Before this time the bishops of Rome had owned 
much land in Italy and had acted as virtual sovereigns in 
Rome and its neighborhood. Pepin’s gift, known as the “Dona¬ 
tion of Pepin,” greatly increased their possessions, which came 
to be called the States of the Church. They remained in the 
hands of the popes until late in the nineteenth century. 1 

106. The Reign of Charlemagne, 768-814 A.D. 

Pepin was succeeded in 768 a.d. by his two sons, one of whom, 
Charlemagne, three years later became sole king of the Franks. 
Charlemagne reigned for nearly 
half a century, Charle _ 
and during this magne, the 
time he set his 
stamp on all later European 
history. His character and 
personality are familiar to us 
from a brief biography, writ¬ 
ten by his secretary, Einhard. 

Charlemagne, we learn, was 
a tall, square-shouldered, 
strongly built man, with bright, 
keen eyes, and an expression 
at once cheerful and dignified. 

Riding, hunting, and swim¬ 
ming were his favorite sports. 

He was simple in his tastes and 
very temperate in both food 
and drink. Except when in 
Rome, he wore the old Frank¬ 
ish costume, with high-laced 
boots, linen tunic, blue cloak, 
and sword girt at his side. He was a clear, fluent speaker, 
used Latin as readily as his native tongue, and understood Greek 

1 In 1870 a.d. the States of the Church were added to the newly formed king¬ 
dom of Italy. 



Lateran Museum, Rome 

A mosaic picture, made during the lifetime 
of Charlemagne, and probably a fair likeness 
of him. 











308 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

when it was spoken. “He also tried to learn to write and 
often kept his tablets and writing book under the pillow of 
his couch, that, when he had leisure, he might practice his 
hand in forming letters; but he made little progress in this 
task, too long deferred and begun too late in life.” 1 For the 
times, however, Charlemagne was a well-educated man — by 
no means a barbarian. 

Much of Charlemagne’s long life, almost to its close, was 

filled with warfare. He fought chiefly against the still-heathen 

Conquest peoples on the fron- 

and con- tiers of the Frankish 

version of 

the Saxons, realm. The subjuga- 
772-804 A.D. ti on Q f gaxons, 

who lived in the forests and marshes 
of northwestern Germany, took 
many years. Charlemagne at the 
head of a great army would invade 
their territory, beat them in battle, 
and receive their submission, only 
to find his work undone by a sudden 
rising of the liberty-loving natives, 
after the withdrawal of the Franks. 
Once when Charlemagne was exas¬ 
perated by a fresh revolt, he ordered 
forty-five hundred prisoners to be 
executed. This savage ma^acre 
was followed by equally severe laws, 
which threatened with death all Saxons v/ho refused baptism or 
observed the old heathen rites. By such harsh means Charle¬ 
magne at length broke down the spirit of resistance among the 
people. All Saxony, from the Rhine to the Elbe, became a 
Christian land and a permanent part of the Frankish realm. 

Shortly after the beginning of the Saxon wars the king of the 
Franks received an urgent summons from the pope, who was 
again being threatened by his old enemies, the Lombards. 
Charlemagne led a mighty host across the Alps, captured 

1 Einhard, Vita Caroli Magni , 25. 



The Iron Crown oe 
Lombardy 


A fillet of iron, which, according to 
pious legend, had been beaten out of 
one of the nails of the True Cross. It 
came to the Lombards as a gift from 
Pope Gregory I, as a reward for their 
conversion to Roman Catholicism. Dur¬ 
ing the Middle Ages it was used to 
crown the German emperors kings of 
Italy. This precious relic is now kept 
in a church at Monza in northern Italy. 











> burgWJ 



















































































































The Reign of Charlemagne 309 

Pavia, where the Lombard ruler had taken refuge, and added 
his possessions to those of the Franks. Thus passed away one 
more of the Germanic states which had arisen on Conquest 
the ruins of the Roman Empire. Charlemagne of the 
now placed on his own head the famous “Iron 
Crown,” and assumed the title of “King of the 
Franks and Lombards, and Patrician of the Romans.” 

Charlemagne’s conquests were not confined to Germanic 
peoples. He forced the wild Avars, who had advanced from 
the Caspian into the Danube valley, to acknowl- Charle _ 
edge his supremacy. He compelled various Slavic magne’s 
tribes, including the Bohemians, to pay tribute. ^ e quests 
He also invaded Spain and wrested from the Mos¬ 
lems the district between the Ebro River and the Pyrenees. 
By this last conquest Charlemagne may be said to have begun 
the recovery of the Spanish peninsula from Mohammedan rule. 1 

Charlemagne was a statesman, as well as a warrior. He 
divided his wide dominions into counties, each one ruled by a 
count, who was expected to keep order and admin- charle- 
ister justice. The border districts, which lay 
exposed to invasion, were organized into marks, 
under the military supervision of counts of the mark, or mar¬ 
graves (marquises). These officials had so much power and 
lived so far from the royal court that it was necessary for 
Charlemagne to appoint special agents, called misst dominici 
(“the lord’s messengers”), to maintain control over them. 
The missi were usually sent out in pairs, a layman and a bishop 
or abbot, in order that the one might serve as a check upon 
the other. They traveled from county to county, bearing the 
orders of their royal master and making sure that these orders 
were promptly obeyed. In this way Charlemagne kept well 
informed as to the condition of affairs throughout his kingdom. 

Charlemagne made a serious effort to revive classical culture 
in the West from the low state into which it had fallen dur- 

1 The rearguard of Charlemagne’s army, when returning from Spain was attacked 
and overwhelmed by the mountaineers of the Pyrenees. The incident gave 
to the famous French epic known as the Song of Roland. 


310 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

ing the period of the invasions. We still possess a number of 

laws issued by this Frankish king for the promotion of educa- 

_ . , . tion. He founded schools in the monasteries and 
Revival of 

learning cathedrals, where not only the clergy but also the 
under Charie- CO mmon people might receive some training. 

He formed his whole court into a palace school, 
in which learned men from Italy, Spain, and England gave 



Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) was the capital city and favorite residence of Charlemagne. The 
church which he built here was almost entirely destroyed by the Northmen in the tenth 
century. The octagonal building surmounted by a dome, which forms the central part of 
the present cathedral, is a restoration of the original structure. The marble columns, 
pavements, and mosaics of Charlemagne’s church were brought by him from Ravenna. 


instruction to his own children and those of his nobles. The 
king himself often studied with them, under the direction of 
his good friend, Alcuin, an Englishman and the foremost scholar 
in western Europe. He had the manuscripts of Latin authors 
collected and copied, so that the knowledge preserved in 













Charlemagne 311 

books should not be forgotten. All this civilizing work, to¬ 
gether with the peace and order which he maintained through¬ 
out a wide territory, made his reign the most brilliant period 
of the early Middle Ages. 


107. Charlemagne and the Revival of the 
Roman Empire, 800 A.D. 

Charlemagne, the champion of Christendom and the fore¬ 
most ruler in Europe, seemed to the men of his day the rightful 
successor of the Roman emperors. He had their Coronation 
power, and now he was to have their name. In 0 f Charie- 
the year 800 a.d. the Frankish king visited Rome ™* gI ^ e ’ D 
to investigate certain accusations made against 
the pope, Leo III, by his enemies in the city. Charlemagne 
absolved Leo of all wrong-doing and restored him to his office. 
Afterwards, on Christmas Day Charlemagne went to old St. 
Peter’s Church, where the pope was saying Mass. As the 
king, dressed in the rich robes of a Roman patrician, knelt in 
prayer before the high altar, the pope suddenly placed on his 
head a golden crown, while all the people cried out with one 
voice, “Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, the great 
and pacific emperor of the Romans, crowned by God!” 

Although Charlemagne appears to have been surprised by 
the pope’s act, we know that he wished to become emperor. 
The imperial title would confer upon him greater Reasons for 
dignity and honor, though not greater power, than the 
he possessed as king of the Franks and of the 
Lombards. The pope, in turn, was glad to reward the man 
who had protected the Church and had done so much to 
spread the Catholic faith among the heathen. The Roman 
people also welcomed the coronation, because they felt that 
the time had come for Rome to assume her old place as the 
capital of the world. To reject the eastern ruler, in favor of 
the great Frankish king, was an emphatic method of asserting 
Rome’s independence of Constantinople. 

The coronation of Charlemagne was one of the most impor¬ 
tant events in medieval history. It might be thought a small 


312 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 


of the 
coronation 


matter that he should take the imperial title, when he already 
exercised imperial sway throughout western Europe. But 
Significance Charlemagne’s contemporaries believed that the 
old Roman Empire had now been revived, and 
that a German king now sat on the throne once 
occupied by Augustus and Constantine. Henceforth there was 
established in the West a line of Roman emperors which lasted 
until the opening of the nineteenth century. 1 

Charlemagne’s empire was not in any true sense a continua¬ 
tion of the Roman Empire. It did not include the dominions 
Charle- in the East, over which the emperors at Constan- 

magne’s tinople were to reign for centuries. Moreover, 

empire Charlemagne and his successors on the throne had 

little in common with the old rulers of Rome, who spoke Latin, 
administered Roman law, and regarded the Germans as among 
their most dangerous enemies. Charlemagne’s empire was, in 
fact, largely a new creation. 

108. Disruption of Charlemagne’s Empire, 814-870 A.D. 

The empire of Charlemagne did not long remain intact. 
So vast was its extent and so unlike were its inhabitants in 
After Charle- race, language, and customs that it could be 
magne managed only by a ruler of the greatest energy 

and strength of will. Unfortunately, the successors of Charle¬ 
magne proved to be too weak for the task of maintaining peace 
and order. Western Europe now entered on a long period of 
confusion and violence, during which Charlemagne’s posses¬ 
sions broke up into separate and warring kingdoms. 

Charlemagne’s son, Louis the Pious, who became emperor in 
814 a.d., was a well-meaning but feeble ruler, better fitted for 
Treaty of q uiet life of a monastery than for the throne. 

He could not control his rebellious sons, who, 
even during his lifetime, fought bitterly over their 
inheritance. The unnatural strife, which continued after his 
death, was temporarily settled by a treaty concluded at the 

1 The title of “Holy Roman Emperor,” assumed by the later successors of 
Charlemagne, was kept by them till 1806 a.d. 


Verdun 
843 A.D. 


Disruption of Charlemagne’s Empire 313 


city of Verdun. According to its terms Lothair, the eldest 
brother, received Italy and the imperial title, together with a 
narrow stretch of land along the valleys of the Rhine and the 
Rhone, between the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Louis 
and Chafes, the other brothers, received kingdoms lying to the 
east and west, respectively, of Lothair’s territory. The Treaty 



The Frankish Dominions as divided by the Treaties 
of Verdun (843 A.D.) and Mersen (870 A.D.) 

of Verdun may be said to mark the first stage in the dissolution 
of the Carolingian Empire. 

A second treaty, made at Mersen in Holland, was entered 
into by Louis and Charles, after the death of their brother 
Lothair. They divided between themselves Lo- Treaty 0 f 
thair’s kingdom north of the Alps, leaving to his Mersen, 
young son the possession of Italy and the empty 
title of “ emperor.” The Treaty of Mersen may be said to 
mark the second stage in the dissolution of the Carolingian 
Empire, That empire, as such, had now ceased to exist. 

















314 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

The territorial arrangements made by the treaties of Verdun 
and Mersen foreshadowed the future map of western Europe. 
Importance T ^ e East Frankish kingdom of Louis, inhabited 

of the two almost entirely by Germanic peoples, was to 
treaties j i • . A x 7 

develop into modern Germany. The West Frank¬ 
ish kingdom of Charles, inhabited mainly by descendants of 
Romanized Gauls, was to become modern France. Lothair’s 
kingdom, separated into two parts by the Alps, never became 
a national state. Italy, indeed, might be united under one 
government, but the long, narrow strip north of the Alps had 
no unity of race, no common language, and no national bound¬ 
aries. It was fated to be broken into fragments and to be 
fought over for centuries by its stronger neighbors. Part of 
this territory now forms the small countries of Belgium, Hol¬ 
land, and Switzerland, and another part, known as Alsace and 
Lorraine, 1 long remained a bone of contention between France 
and Germany. 

Even had Charlemagne been followed by strong and able 
rulers, it would have been a difficult matter to hold the empire 
Renewed together in the face of the fresh series of barbarian 
invasions inroads which began immediately after his death. 

The Mohammedans, though checked by the Franks 
at the battle of Tours, 2 continued to be dangerous enemies. 
They ravaged southern France, Sicily, and parts of Italy. The 
piratical Northmen from Denmark and Norway harried the 
coast of France and made inroads far beyond Paris. They also 
penetrated into western Germany, sailing up the Rhine in their 
black ships and destroying such important towns as Cologne 
and Aix-la-Chapelle. Meanwhile, eastern Germany lay exposed 
to the attacks of the Slavs, whom Charlemagne had defeated 
but not subdued. The Magyars, or Hungarians, were also 
dreaded foes. Their wild horsemen entered Europe from the 
plains of Asia and, like the Huns and Avars to whom they were 
probably related, spread devastation far and wide. A great 

fromThe T° rr u ain ? and the German name Lothrin gen are both derived 

trom the Latin title of Lothair’s kingdom — Lotharii regnum 
* See page 306. 


Germany under Saxon Kings 315 

part of Europe thus suffered from invasions almost as destruc¬ 
tive as those which had brought ruin to the old Roman 
world. 


109. Germany under Saxon Kangs, 919-973 A.D. 

The tenth century saw another movement toward the resto¬ 
ration of law and order. The civilizing work of Charlemagne 
was taken up by German kings, not of the old The German 
Frankish stock, but belonging to that Saxon people stem- 
which had opposed Charlemagne so long and duchies 
bitterly. Saxony was one of the five great territorial states, 
or stem-duchies, as they are usually called, into which Germany 
was then divided. 1 Germany at that time extended only as 
far east as the river Elbe, beyond which lay the territory occu¬ 
pied by half-civilized Slavic tribes. 

The rulers of the stem-duchies enjoyed practical independ¬ 
ence, though they had recognized some king of Germany ever 
since the Treaty of Verdun. Early in the tenth Elective 
century the Carolingian dynasty died out in Ger- kingship of 
many, and the German nobles then proceeded to Germany 
elect their own kings. Their choice fell first upon Conrad, 
duke of Franconia, but he had little authority outside his own 
duchy. A stronger man was required to keep the peace among 
the turbulent nobles and to repel the invaders of Germany. 
Such a man appeared in the person of Henry, duke of Saxony, 
who, after Conrad’s death, was chosen king. 

Henry I, called the Fowler, because he was fond of hunting 
birds, spent the greater part of his reign in wars against the 
Slavs, Magyars, and other invaders. He con- Rdgn Qf 
quered from the Slavs the territory afterwards Henry the 
known as Brandenburg. This country was to ^^ 919 ~ 
furnish Germany, in later centuries, with the 
dynasty of the Hohenzollerns. 2 He occupied the southern 
part of Denmark (Schleswig) and Christianized it. He also 


1 The others were Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, and Lorraine. 

2 The Hohenzollerns became electors of Brandenburg in 1415 A.D., kings of 
Prussia in 1701, and emperors of Germany in 1871. 


316 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

recovered for Germany Lorraine, a district which remained in 
German hands throughout the Middle Ages.* 

Henry the Fowler was succeeded by his son, Otto I, whom 
history knows as Otto the Great. He well deserved the title. 
Reign of Like Charlemagne, Otto presented the aspect of 

Otto the a born ruler. He is described as being tall and 

Sd 36 " commanding in presence, strong and vigorous of 
body, and gifted with great charm of manner. In 
his bronzed face shone clear and sparkling eyes, and down his 
breast hung a long, thick beard. Though subject to violent 
outbursts of temper, he was liberal to his 
friends and just to his foes. Otto was a 
man of immense energy and ambition, 
with a high conception of his duties as a 
sovereign. His reign forms one of the 
most notable epochs in German history. 

Otto continued Henry’s work of de¬ 
fending Germany from the foes which 
Otto and threatened to overrun that 
the Magyars coun try. He won his most 
conspicuous success against fhe Magyars, 
who suffered a crushing defeat on the 
banks of the river Lech in Bavaria (955 
a.d.). These barbarians now ceased their raids and retired to 
the lands on the middle Danube which they had seized from 
the Slavs. Here they settled down, accepted Christianity from 
the Roman Church, and laid the foundations of the kingdom 
of Hungary. 1 As a protection against future Magyar inroads 
Otto established the East Mark. This region afterwards rose 
to great importance under the name of Austria. 

Otto was an excellent ruler of Germany. He made it his 
business to strengthen the royal authority by weakening that 
of the stem-dukes. He had to fight against them on more than 

. 1 7 ' he Ma gy a r settlement in central Europe had the important result of divid¬ 
es the Slavic peoples into three groups. Those who remained south of the Danube 
(Serbians, Croatians, etc.) were henceforth separated from the northwestern Slavs 
{Bohemians, Moravians, and Poles) and from the eastern Slavs (Russians). See 
the map facing page 326. 



Ring Seal of Otto 
the Great 


The inscription reads 
Oddo Rex. 



Otto the Great 


3i7 


one occasion, for they regarded themselves almost as independ¬ 
ent kings. Otto was able to keep them in check, but the rulers 
who followed him were less successful in this re- otto and the 
spect. The struggle between the kings and their stem-dukes 
powerful nobles formed a constant feature of the medieval 
history of Germany. 


110. Otto the Great and the Restoration of the 
Roman Empire, 962 A.D. 


Otto the Great is not to be remembered only as a German 
king. His reign was also noteworthy in the history of Italy. 
The country at this time was hopelessly divided Condition of 
between rival and contending peoples. The Italy 
emperor at Constantinople controlled the southern extremity of 
the peninsula. The Mohammedans held Sicily and some cities 
on the mainland. The pope ruled at Rome and in the States 
of the Church. A so-called king of Italy still reigned in Lom¬ 
bardy, but he could not manage the powerful counts, dukes, and 
marquises, who were virtually independent within their own 
domains. Even the imperial title died out, and now there was 
no longer a Roman emperor in the West. 

The deplorable condition of Italy invited interference from 
abroad. Following in the footsteps of Charlemagne, Otto the 
Great led two expeditions across the Alps, assumed Coronation 
the “Iron Crown” 1 of Lombardy, and then pro- 0 f Otto the 
ceeded to Rome, where he secured the pope (John g^ a £ D# 
XII) against the latter’s enemies in that city. 

Otto’s reward was the same as Charlemagne’s. On Candlemas 


Day, 2 962 A.D., the grateful pope crowned him Roman emperor. 

The coronation of Otto the Great seemed to his contem¬ 
poraries a necessary and beneficial act. They still believed 
that the Roman Empire was suspended, not Meaning 
extinct: and that now, one hundred and fifty of the 

, . coronation 

years after Charlemagne, the occasion was oppor¬ 
tune to revive the name and power associated with the golden 
age of the first Frankish emperor. Otto’s ardent spirit, one 

1 See the illustration, page 308. 2 February 2d. 


3*8 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

may well believe, was fired with this vision of imperial sway 
and the renewal of a title around which clustered so many 
memories of success and glory. 

But the outcome of Otto’s restoration of the Roman Empire 
was good neither for Italy nor for Germany. It became the 



Europe in the Age of Otto the Great, 962 A. D. 


rule, henceforth, that the man whom the German nobles chose 
as their king had a claim, also, to the Italian crown and the 
Ultimate imperial title. The efforts of the German kings 
results Of to make good this claim led to their constant in¬ 
coronation terference in the affairs of Italy. They treated 

that country as a conquered province which had 
no right to a national fife and an independent government 
under its own rulers. At the same time they neglected Germany 











The Anglo-Saxons in Britain 319 

and failed to keep their powerful territorial lords in subjection. 
Neither Italy nor Germany, in consequence, could become a 
unified, centralized state, such as was formed in France and 
England during the later Middle Ages. 

The empire of Charlemagne, restored by Otto the Great, 
came to be called in later centuries the “Holy Roman Empire.” 
The title points to the idea of a world monarchy Tlie Holy 
— the Roman Empire — and a world religion — Roman 
Roman Christianity — united in one institution. Empire 
This magnificent idea was never fully realized. The popes and 
emperors, instead of being bound to each other by the closest 
ties, were more generally enemies than friends. A large part 
of medieval history was to turn on this conflict between the 
Empire and the Papacy. 

111. The Anglo-Saxons in Britain, 449-839 A.D. 

From the history of Continental Europe we now turn to 
the history of Britain. That island had been overrun by the 
Germanic barbarians after the middle of the fifth Anglo-Saxon 
century. They are commonly known as Anglo- conquest of 
Saxons, from the names of their two principal Bntain 
peoples, the Angles and . Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon conquest of 
Britain was a slow process, which lasted at least one hundred 
and fifty years. The invaders followed the rivers into the 
interior and gradually subdued more than a half of what is 
now England, comprising the fertile plain district in the southern 
and eastern parts of the island. 

Though the Anglo-Saxons probably destroyed many flourish¬ 
ing cities and towns of the Romanized Britons, it seems likely 
that the conquerors spared the women, with whom Nature of 
they intermarried, and the agricultural laborers, the con( i uest 
whom they made slaves. Other natives took refuge in the hill 
regions of western and northern Britain, and here their de¬ 
scendants still keep up the Celtic language and traditions. The 
Anglo-Saxons regarded the Britons with contempt, naming 
them Welsh, a word which means one who talks gibberish. 


320* Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

The antagonism between the two peoples died out in the course 
of centuries; conquerors and conquered intermingled; and 
an English nation, partly Celtic and partly Germanic, came 
into being. 

The Anglo-Saxons started to fight one another before they 
ceased fighting their common enemy, the Britons. Throughout 



Anglo-Saxon Drinking Horn 

Horn of Ulphus (Wulf) in the cathedral of York. The old English were heavy drinkers, 
chiefly of ale and mead. The evening meal usually ended with a drinking bout. 

the seventh and eighth centuries, the Anglo-Saxon states were 
engaged in almost constant struggles, either for increase of 
The seven territory or for supremacy. The kingdoms farthest 
kingdoms in east — Kent, Sussex, Essex, and East Anglia — 
found their expansion checked by other kingdoms 
— Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex — which grew up in the 
interior of the island. Each of these three stronger states 
gained in turn the leading place. 

The beginning of the supremacy of Wessex dates from the 
reign of Egbert. He had lived for some years as an exile at the 
Egbert and court of Charlemagne, from whom he must have 
the suprem- learned valuable lessons of war and statesmanship. 
Wessex, 802 - After returning from the Continent, Egbert became 
839 a.d. king of Wessex and gradually forced the rulers of 
the other states to acknowledge him as overlord. Though 
Egbert was never directly king of all England, he began the 
work of uniting the Anglo-Saxons under one government. His 
descendants have occupied the English throne to the present day. 

When the Germans along the Rhine and the Danube crossed 
the frontiers and entered the western provinces, they had 


The Anglo-Saxons in Britain 


3 21 



PETfRS.ENCRS , BOSTON 


























































































































































































































































322 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

already been partially Romanized. They understood enough of 
Roman civilization to appreciate it and to desire to preserve 
Anglo-Saxon it. The situation was quite different with the 
Britain Anglo-Saxons. Their original home lay in a part 

of Germany far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire 
and remote from the cultural influences of Rome. Coming to 
Britain as barbarians, they naturally introduced their own 
language, laws, and customs wherever they settled. Much of 
what the Anglo-Saxons brought with them still lives in England, 
and from that country has spread to the United States and the 
vast English colonies beyond the seas. The English language is 
less indebted to Latin than any of the Romance languages, 1 
and the Common law of England owes much less to Roman 
law than do the legal systems of Continental Europe. England, 
indeed, looks to the Anglo-Saxons for some of the most charac¬ 
teristic and important elements of her civilization. 

112. Christianity in the British Isles 

The Anglo-Saxons also brought to Britain their heathen 
faith. Christianity did not come to them until the close 
Preparation the sixth century. At this time more or less 
for intercourse had sprung up between the people of 

Christianity ]£ ent> lying nearest to the Continent, and the 
Franks in Gaul. Ethelbert, the king of Kent, had even married 
the Frankish princess, Bertha. He allowed his Christian wife 
to bring a bishop to her new home and gave her the deserted 
church of St. Martin at Canterbury as a place of worship. 
Queen Bertha’s fervent desire for the conversion of her husband 
and his people prepared the way for an event of first impor¬ 
tance in English history — the mission of Augustine. 

The pope at this time was Gregory I, better known, from his 

services to the Roman Church, as Gregory the Great. The 

Mission of kingdom of Kent, with its Christian queen, must 

Augustine, have seemed to him a promising field for mission- 
597 AD 1 ° 

ary enterprise. Gregory, accordingly, sent out the 

monk Augustine with forty companions to carry the Gospel to 

1 See page 208. 


Christianity in the British Isles 


323 


the heathen English. The king of Kent, already well disposed 
toward the Christian faith, greeted the missionaries kindly and 
told them that they were free to convert whom they would. 
Before long he and his court embraced Christianity, and the 
people of Kent soon followed the royal example. The monks 
were assigned a residence in Canterbury, a city which has ever 
since remained the religious capital of England. From Kent 
Christianity in its Ro¬ 
man form gradually 
spread into the other 
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. 

Augustine and his 
monks were not the 
first mis- Celtic 
sionaries Christianity 

to Britain. Roman 
soldiers, merchants, and 
officials had introduced 
Christianity among the 
Britons as early as the 
second century. Dur¬ 
ing the fifth century 
the famous St. Patrick had carried Christianity to the 
heathen Irish. The Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain drove 
many Christians to Ireland, and that island in the sixth and 
seventh centuries became a center from which devoted monks 
went forth to labor in western Scotland and northern Britain. 1 
Here they came in contact with the Roman missionaries. 

The Celtic Christians followed some customs which differed 
from those observed by Roman Christians. They computed 
the date on which Easter fell according to a Differences 
system unlike that of the Romans. They per- 
mitted their priests to marry; the Romans for- Roman 
bade the practice. Their monks shaved the front Christianity 
of the head from ear to ear as a tonsure, while Roman monks 



St. Martin’s Church, Canterbury 


The present church, dating from the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury, occupies the site of a chapel built be|ore the arrival 
of Augustine. The walls still contain some of the Roman 
bricks used in the original structure. St. Martin’s 
Church was the scene of the earliest work of Augustine 
in Canterbury. 


1 The enthusiasm of the Celtic Christians reached such proportions that it 
swept back upon the Continent. In the seventh and eighth centuries Irish mission- 


324 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

shaved the top of the head, leaving a “crown of thorns.” These 
differences may not seem very important, but they were enough 
to prevent the cooperation of Celtic and Roman missionaries 
for the conversion of the heathen. 



Canterbury Cathedral 


The choir dates from the twelfth century, the nave, transepts, and central tower, from 
the fifteenth century. One of the two towers at the west front was built in 1834-1840 a.d. 
The beautiful stained glass in the windows of the choir belongs to the thirteenth century. 


The rivalry between Celtic and Roman Christians was 
finally settled at a church gathering, or synod, called by the 
Synod of king °f Northumbria at Whitby. The main con- 
664 ^ D troversy at this synod concerned the proper date 
for Easter. In the course of the debate it was 
asserted that the Roman custom had the sanction of St. Peter, 
to whom Christ had intrusted the keys of heaven. This state¬ 
ment was enough for the Northumbrian king, who thereupon 
decided in favor of the Roman claim, declaring that he would 

aries worked among the heathen Germans and founded monasteries in Burgundy, 
Lombardy, and southern Germany (now Switzerland). 





The Fusion of Germans and Remans 325 


not oppose St. Peter, “lest when I come before the gates of the 
kingdom of heaven, he who holds the keys should not open to 
me.” 1 The representatives of the Celtic Church then withdrew 
from England, leaving the field clear for Roman missionaries. 

The decision of the Synod of Whitby in favor of Rome meant 
that all England henceforth would recognize the pope’s author¬ 
ity in religious matters. It remained a Roman The British 
Catholic country until the time of the Reformation, isles become 
nearly nine hundred years later. 2 The Celtic 
Christians in Ireland and Scotland also in the 
course of time became the devoted children of the Roman 
Church. 

113. The Fusion of Germans and Romans 

We have now followed the fortunes of the Germans for five 
centuries from the end of the Roman Empire in the West. 
Most of their kingdoms, it has been seen, were not The 
permanent. The Visigothic and Burgundian do- Germanic 
minions in Gaul yielded to the Franks, and those kingdoms 
of the Visigoths in Spain, to the Mohammedan Arabs. The 
Vandal possessions in North Africa were regained by the em¬ 
perors at Constantinople. The rule of the Ostrogoths in Italy 
endured for only sixty years and that of the Lombards passed 
away after two centuries. The kingdoms established by the 
Franks and the Anglo-Saxons alone developed into lasting 
states. 

But even where the Germans did not found permanent king¬ 
doms, they mingled with the subject provincials and adopted 
much of the old Roman civilization. The fusion 
of the two peoples naturally required a long time, 
being scarcely completed before the middle of the 
tenth century. It was hindered, in the first place, 
by the desire of the Germans to secure the lands 
of the Romans. Wherever the barbarians settled, they appropri- 

1 Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, iii, 25. 

2 The separation from Rome occurred in 1534 a.d., during the reign of Henry 
VIII. 


Hindrances 
to the 
fusion of 
Germans 
and Romans 


326 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

ated a large part of the agricultural soil. How much they took 
varied in different countries. The Ostrogoths seem to have 
seized one-third of the land in Italy; the Visigoths, two-thirds 
of that in Gaul and Spain; the Anglo-Saxons, perhaps all the 
tillable soil of Britain. It could not but be galling to the Romans 
to surrender their farms to the barbarians. In the second 
place, the Germans often assessed heavy taxes on the Romans, 
which they themselves refused to pay. Tax-paying seemed to 
the Germans a mark of servitude. In the third place, a barrier 
between the two peoples arose from the circumstance that 
each had its particular law. For several centuries following the 
invasions there was one law for the Romans — that which they 
had enjoyed under the empire — and another law for the Ger¬ 
mans — their old tribal customs. After the Germans had 
lived for some time in contact with the Romans they wrote out 
their laws in the Latin language. These “Laws of the Bar¬ 
barians” still survive and throw much light on their early 
beliefs and manners. 

In spite of the hindrances to fusion, it seems true that the 
Germans and the Romans felt no great dislike for each other 
and that, as a rule, they freely intermingled. 
favoring 118 Certain conditions directly favored this result, 
fusion First, many Germans had found their way within 

the empire as hired soldiers, colonists, and 
slaves, long before the invasions began. Second, the Ger¬ 
manic invaders came in relatively small numbers. Third, 
the Germans entered the Roman world not as destroyers, 
but as homeseekers. They felt a real reverence for Roman 
civilization. And fourth, some of the principal Germanic 
nations, including the Visigoths, Burgundians, and Vandals, 
were already Christians at the time of their invasions, while 
other nations, such as the Franks and the Anglo-Saxons, were 
afterwards converted to Christianity. As long, however, as 
most of the Germans remained Arian Christians 1 their belief 
stood in the way of friendly intercourse with the Roman 
provincials, who had accepted the Catholic faith. 

1 See page 236. 




















































































































The Fusion of Germans and Romans 


327 

If western Europe during the early Middle Ages presented 
a scene of violence and confusion while the Germans were set¬ 
tling in their new homes, a different picture was 
afforded by eastern Europe. Here the Roman 
Empire still survived and continued to uphold 
for centuries the Roman tradition of law and 
order. The history of that empire forms the theme of the 
following chapter. 

Studies 

1. On an outline map indicate the boundaries of the empire of Charlemagne, 
distinguishing his hereditary possessions from those which he acquired by conquest. 

2. On an outline map indicate the boundaries of the empire of Otto the Great. 

3. What events are connected with the following places: Soissons; Mersen; 
Whitby; Reims; Verdun; Canterbury; and Strassburg? 4. What is the historical 
importance of Augustine, Henry the Fowler, Pepin the Short, Charles Martel, 
Egbert, and Ethelbert? 5. Give dates for the following events: battle of Tours; 
crowning of Charlemagne as emperor; crowning of Otto the Great as emperor; 
deposition of Romulus Augustulus; Augustine’s mission to England; and the 
Treaty of Verdun. 6. Explain the following expressions: “do-nothing kings”; 
mis si dominici; Holy Roman Empire; and “Donation of Pepin.” 7. Why was 
the extinction of the Ostrogothic kingdom a misfortune for Italy? 8. Why did 
Italy remain for so many centuries after the Lombard invasion merely “a geograph¬ 
ical expression”? 9. What difference did it make whether Clovis became an Arian 
or a Catholic? 10. What events in the lives of Clovis and Pepin the Short contrib¬ 
uted to the affiance between the Franks and the popes? n. What provinces of 
the Roman Empire in the West were not included within the limits of Charle¬ 
magne’s empire? 12. What countries of modern Europe are included within the 
limits of Charlemagne’s empire? 13. Compare the mis si dominici with the “eyes 
and ears” of Persian kings. 14. What is the origin of the word “emperor”? 
As a title distinguish it from that of “ king.” 15. Why has Lothair’s kingdom 
north of the Alps been called the “strip of trouble”? 16. In what parts of the 
British Isles are Celtic languages stiff spoken? 17. How did the four English 
counties, Sussex, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, receive their names? 18. What 
was the importance of the Synod of Whitby? 19. Set forth the conditions which 
hindered, and, those which favored, the fusion of Germans and Romans. 


Contrast 
between 
East and 
West 


CHAPTER XIV 


EASTERN EUROPE DURING THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES, 
395-1095 A.D. 


Causes of 
its survival 


114. The Roman Empire in the East 

The Roman Empire in the West moved rapidly to its “fall” 
in 476 a.d., at the hands of the Germanic invaders. The Roman 
f Empire in the East, though threatened by enemies 

the Roman from without and weakened by civil conflicts 

Empire in from within, endured for more than a thousand 
years. Until the middle of the eleventh century 
it was the strongest state in Europe, except during the reign 
of Charlemagne, when the Frankish kingdom eclipsed it. Until 
the middle of the fifteenth century it preserved the name, the 
civilization, and some part of the dominions, of ancient Rome. 1 

The long life of the Roman Empire in the East is one of the 
marvels of history. Its great and constant vitality appears 
the more remarkable, when one considers that 
it had no easily defensible frontiers, contained 
many different races with little in common, and 
on all sides faced hostile states. The empire survived so 
long, because of its vast wealth and resources, its despotic, 
centralized government, the strength of its army, and the 
almost impregnable position occupied by Constantinople, the 
capital city. 

The changing fortunes of the empire during the Middle Ages 
are reflected in some of the names by which it is often known. 

The term “Greek Empire” expresses the fact that 
the state became more and more Greek in char¬ 
acter, owing to the loss, first of the western 
provinces in the fifth century, and then of Syria 
and Egypt in the seventh century. Another term — “Byzan- 

1 The fall of the empire came in 1453 a.d., when Constantinople was captured 
by the Ottoman Turks. 

328 


Character 
of the 
empire 


The Roman Empire in the East 329 

tine Empire”—appropriately describes the condition of the 
state in still later times, when its possessions were reduced to 
Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and the territory in the 
neighborhood of that city. But through ail this period the 
rulers at Constantinople regarded themselves as the true suc¬ 
cessors of Augustus, Diocletian, and Constantine. They never 
admitted the right of Charlemagne and Otto the Great to 
establish a rival Roman Empire in western Europe. 1 They 
claimed to be the only legitimate heirs of Old Rome. 

115. The Reign of Justinian, 527-565 A.D. 

The history of the Roman Empire in the East, for more than 
one hundred years after the death of Theodosius, is unevent¬ 
ful. His successors, though unable to prevent „ 

Successors 

the Germans from seizing Italy and the other 0 f Theodo- 
western provinces, managed to keep their own 
dominions intact. The eastern provinces escaped 
the fate of those in the West, because they were more populous 
and offered greater obstacles to the barbarian invaders, who 
followed the line of least resistance. The gradual recovery 
of the empire in strength and warlike energy prepared the 
way for a really eminent ruler — Justinian. 

Justinian is described as a man of noble bearing, simple in 
his habits, affable in speech, and easy of approach to all his 
subjects. Historians have often drawn attention j ustinian 
to his wonderful activity of mind and power of and 
rteady industry. So great was his zeal for work 
that one of his courtiers called him “the emperor who never 
sleeps.” Possessed of large ideas and inspired by the majesty 
of Rome, Justinian aimed to be a great conqueror, a great 
lawgiver, and a great restorer of civilization. His success 
in whatever he undertook must be ascribed in part to his 
wife, Theodora, whom he associated with himself on the throne. 
Theodora, strong of mind and wise in counsel, made a worthy 
helpmate for Justinian, who more than once declared that in 
affairs of state he had consulted his “revered wife.” 

1 See pages 311-312, 317-318. 


330 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

It was the ambition of Justinian to conquer the Germanic 
kingdoms which had been formed out of the Mediterranean 
Conquests of provinces. In this task he relied chiefly on the 
Justinian military genius of Belisarius, one of the world’s 
foremost commanders. Belisarius was able in one short cam¬ 
paign to destroy the Vandal kingdom in North Africa. The 
Vandals by this time had lost their early vigor; they made but a 
feeble resistance; and their Roman subjects welcomed Beli- 



A Mosaic of Justinian 


A mosaic dating from 547 a.d., in the church of San Vitale, Ravenna. 

It shows the emperor (in the center) with a bishop, his suite, and im¬ 
perial guards. The picture probably gives us a fair idea of Justinian’s 
appearance, though it represents him as somewhat younger than he was 
at the time. 

sarius as a deliverer. Justinian awarded a triumph to his 
victorious general, an honor which for five centuries emperors 
alone had enjoyed. The conquest of North Africa, together 
with the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, was followed by the 
overthrow of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Sicily and Italy. Jus¬ 
tinian also recovered from the Visigoths the southeastern 
part of Spain. He could now say with truth that the Medi¬ 
terranean was once more a Roman sea. 





















33i 


The Reign of Justinian 

The conquests of Justinian proved to be less enduring than 
his work as a lawgiver. Until his reign the sources of Roman 
law, including the legislation of the popular assem- codification 
blies, the decrees of the Senate, the edicts of the of Roman 
praetors and emperors, and the decisions of learned law 
lawyers, had never been completely collected and arranged in 
scientific form. Justinian appointed a commission of legal 
scholars to perform this task. The result of their labors, in 
which the emperor himself assisted, was the publication of the 
Corpus Juris Civiiis , the “Body of Civil Law.” Under this 
form the Roman principles of jurisprudence have become the 
foundation of the legal systems of modern Italy, Spain, France, 
Germany, and other European countries. These principles 
even influenced the Common law of England, which has been 
adopted by the United States . 1 The Corpus Juris Civilis , 
because of this widespread influence, is justly regarded as one 
of Rome’s most important gifts to the world. 

Justinian’s claim to the title of “ Great” rests also on his civi¬ 
lizing work. He wished to restore the prosperity, as well as 
the provinces, of the empire. During his reign civilizing 
roads, bridges, and aqueducts were repaired, and work of 
commerce and agriculture were encouraged. It J ustliuan 
was at this time that two Christian missionaries brought from 
China the eggs of the silkworm, and introduced the manu¬ 
facture of silk in Europe. As a builder Justinian gained special 
fame. The edifices which he caused to be raised throughout 
his dominions included massive fortifications on the exposed 
frontiers, splendid palaces, and many monasteries and churches. 
The most noteworthy monument to his piety is the church 
of Sancta Sophia 2 at Constantinople, now used as a Moham¬ 
medan mosque. By his conquests, his laws, and his buildings, 
Justinian revived for a time the waning glory of imperial 
Rome. 


1 Roman law still prevails in the province of Quebec and the state of Louis¬ 
iana, territories formerly under French control, and in all the Spanish-American 
countries. 

2 In Greek, Hagia Sophia , “Holy Wisdom.” 


332 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 


116 . The Empire and its Asiatic Foes 

The Roman Empire in the East did not long remain at the 
pinnacle of greatness to which Justinian had raised it. His 
After conquests, indeed, weakened rather than strength- 

justinian ened th e empire, since now there were much more 
extensive frontiers to defend. Within half a century after his 
death it was attacked both in Europe and in Asia. The Lom- 



DURING THE TENTH AND’ ELEVENTH CENTURIES 

bards 1 soon seized Italy, and in the East the Persians renewed 
their contest against the Roman power. 

The struggle with the Persians was an inheritance from earlier 
times. 2 Under an ambitious king, Chosroes II, the Persians 
Persians overran all the Asiatic provinces of the empire. 

A savior arose, however, in the person of the 
Roman emperor, Heraclius (610-641 a.d.). His brilliant 
campaigns against Chosroes partook of the nature of a crusade, 
or “holy war,” for the Persians had violated the Holy Sepulcher 
at Jerusalem and had stolen away the True Cross, the most 


1 See page 302. 


2 See page 219. 




















333 


The Empire and its Asiatic Foes 

sacred relic of Christendom. Heraclius recovered all his prov¬ 
inces, but only at the cost of a bloody struggle which drained 
them of men and money and helped to make them fall easy 
victims to foes still more terrible than the Persians. These were 
the Arabs. 

Heraclius had not closed his reign before he saw all his vic¬ 
tories undone by the advance of the Arabs. The first wave of 
invasion tore away Syria and Egypt from the Arabs 
empire, penetrated Asia Minor, and reached the 
shores of the Bosporus. Repulsed before the walls of Con¬ 
stantinople, the Arabs carried their arms to the West and seized 
North Africa, Spain, part of southern Italy, and the Mediter¬ 
ranean islands. Asia Minor and the Balkan peninsula still 
held out, however, and during the tenth century a line of able 
rulers at Constantinople succeeded in winning back some of 
their lost provinces. 

During the eleventh century the empire had to face new 
enemies. These were the Seljuk Turks, 1 fierce nomads from 
the steppes beyond the Caspian. After their ^ Turks 
conversion to Mohammedanism, they swept with 
irresistible force through the East and conquered nearly 
all Asia Minor. The ruin of this country, in earlier ages one 
of the most populous and flourishing regions of the world, dates 
from its occupation by the Seljuks. To resist their further 
advance the Roman emperor sought in 1095 a.d. the help of 
the Christians of Europe. His appeals for aid resulted in the 
First Crusade, with which a new chapter of medieval history 
began. 

Thus, for more than five centuries after Justinian, the Roman 
Empire in the East was engaged in a long struggle with the 
foes — Persians, Arabs, and Seljuk Turks — which Work of the 
successively attacked its dominions. By its stub- empire in 
born resistance of the advance of the invaders 
the old empire protected the young states of Europe from attack, 
until they grew strong enough to meet and repulse the hordes 
of Asia. This service to civilization was not less important 

1 So named from one of their leaders. 


334 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

than that which had been performed by Greece and Rome in 
their contests with the Persians and the Carthaginians. 

117. The Empire and its Foes in Europe 

The troubled years after Justinian’s death also witnessed 
the beginning of the Slavic 1 settlements in southeastern 
Europe. The Slavs belonged to the Indo-European 
race, but had not progressed in civilization as far 
as the Germans. Their cradle land seems to have been in 
western Russia, whence they slowly spread to the Baltic, the 
Elbe, and the Danube. We have already mentioned the cam¬ 
paigns which Charlemagne and Henry the Fowler waged against 
them. 2 The emperors at Constantinople were less successful in 
resisting that branch of the Slavs which tried to occupy the 
Balkan peninsula. After crossing the Danube, the Slavs pressed 
on farther and farther, until they reached the southern extremity 
'of ancient Greece. They avoided the cities, but formed peasant 
communities in the open country, where they readily mingled 
with the inhabitants. Their descendants have remained in 
the Balkan peninsula to this day. The inhabitants of modern 
Serbia 3 are Slavs, and even in the Greeks there is a considerable 
strain of Slavic blood. 

The Bulgarians, a people akin to the Huns and Avars, made 
their appearance south of the lower Danube in the seventh 
century. For more than three hundred years 
Bulgarians t k ese barbarians, brutal, fierce, and cruel, were a 
menace to the empire. At one time they threatened Constan¬ 
tinople and even killed a Roman emperor, whose skull was 
converted into a drinking cup to grace their feasts. The Bul¬ 
garians settled in the region which now bears their name and 
gradually adopted the speech and customs of the Slavs. Modern 
Bulgaria is essentially a Slavic state. 

1 The word slova means “speech” ; the Slavs are those who speak the same 
language. 

* See pages 309, 315. 

* A more accurate designation than Servia. Originally, all Slavic peoples 
called themselves Serbs. 


The Empire and its Foes in Europe 335 

The empire was attacked in southeastern Europe by still 
other barbarians, among whom were the Russians. This 
Slavic people, led by chieftains from Sweden, Russians 
descended the Dnieper and Dniester rivers and, 
crossing the Black Sea, appeared before the walls of Con¬ 
stantinople. Already, in the tenth century, that city formed 
the goal of Russian ambitions. The invaders are said to have 
made four attempts to plunder its treasures. Though unsuc¬ 
cessful, they compelled the emperors from time to time to pay 
them tribute. 

Christianity reached the invaders of the Balkan peninsula 
from Constantinople. The Serbians, Bulgarians, and Russians 
were converted in the ninth and tenth centuries. Work of the 
With Christianity they received the use of letters empire in 
and some knowledge of Roman law and methods p 
of government. Constantinople was to them, henceforth, such 
a center of religion and culture as Rome was to the Germans. 
By becoming the teacher of the vast Slavic peoples of the 
Balkan peninsula and European Russia, the empire performed 
another important service to civilization. 

118. Byzantine Civilization 

The Roman Empire in the East, though often menaced by 

barbarian foes, long continued to be the leading European power. 

Its highest degree of prosperity was reached be- Strength 

tween the middle of the ninth and the middle of and wealth 
, . A • of the empire 

the eleventh century. The provinces in Asia 

Minor and the Balkan peninsula produced a vast annual 

revenue, much of which went for defense. It was necessary to 

maintain a large, well-disciplined army, great fleets and engines 

of war, and the extensive fortifications of Constantinople and 

the frontier cities. Confronted by so many dangers, the empire 

could hope to survive only by making itself a strong military 

state. 

The merchant ships of Constantinople, during the earlier part 
of the Middle Ages, carried on most of the commerce of the 


336 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The products of Byzantine 
industry, including silks, embroideries, mosaics, enamels, and 
Commerce metal work, were exchanged at that city for the 
and spices, drugs, and precious stones of the East, 

industry Byzantine wares also found their way into Italy 

and France and, by way of the Russian rivers, reached the 
heart of eastern Europe. Russia, in turn, furnished Con¬ 
stantinople with large quantities of honey, wax, fur, wool, 
grain, and slaves. A traveler of the twelfth century well 
described the city as a metropolis “common to all the world, 
without distinction of country or religion.” 

Many of the Roman emperors from Justinian onward were 
great builders. Byzantine architecture, seen especially in the 
Character of churches, became a leading form of art. Its most 
Byzantine striking feature is the dome, which replaces the 
flat, wooden roof used in the basilican 1 churches 
of Italy. The exterior of a Byzantine church is plain and unim¬ 
posing, but the interior is adorned on a magnificent scale. The 
eyes of the worshiper are dazzled by the walls faced with marble 
slabs of variegated colors, by the columns of polished marble, 
jasper, and porphyry, and by the brilliant mosaic pictures of 
gilded glass. The entire impression is one of richness and 
splendor. Byzantine artists, though mediocre painters and 
sculptors, excelled, in all kinds of decorative work. Their 
carvings in wood, ivory, and metal, together with their em¬ 
broideries, enamels, and miniatures, enjoyed a high reputation 
throughout medieval Europe. 

Byzantine art, from the sixth century to the present time, 
has exerted a wide influence. Sicily, southern Italy, Rome, 
influence of Ravenna, and Venice contain many examples of 
Byzantine Byzantine churches. Italian painting in the 
Middle Ages seems to have been derived directly 
from the mosaic pictures of the. artists of Constantinople. Russia 
received not only its religion but also its art from Constantinople. 
The great Russian churches of Moscow and Petrograd follow 
Byzantine models. Even the Arabs, in spite of their hostility 

1 See page 284. 


Byzantine Civilization 337 

to Christianity, borrowed Byzantine artists and profited by 
their services. The Mohammedan mosques of Damascus, 
Cairo, and Cordova, both in methods of construction and 
in details of ornamentation, reproduce Byzantine styles. 

The libraries and museums of Constantinople preserved 
classical learning. In the flourishing schools of that city the 
wisest men of the day taught philosophy, law, Literature 
medicine, and science to thousands of students, and 
The professors figured among the important learmng 
persons of the court: official documents mention the “prince 
of the rhetoricians” and the “consul of the philosophers.” 
Many of the emperors showed a taste for scholarship; one of 
them was said to have been so devoted to study that he almost 
forgot to reign. When kings in western Europe were so 
ignorant that they could with difficulty scrawl their names, 
eastern emperors wrote books and composed poetry. It is 
true that Byzantine scholars were erudite rather than original. 
Impressed by the great treasures of knowledge about them, 
they found it difficult to strike out into new, unbeaten paths. 
Most students were content to make huge collections of 
extracts and notes from the books which antiquity had 
bequeathed to them. Even this task was useful, however, 
for their encyclopedias preserved much information which 
otherwise would have been lost. During the Middle Ages the 
East cherished the productions of classical learning, until the 
time came when the West was ready to receive them and to 
profit by them. 

119 . Constantinople 

The heart of Byzantine civilization was Constantinople. 
The city lies on a peninsula between the Sea of Marmora and 
the spaciotis harbor called the Golden Horn. Position of 
Washed on three sides by the water and, like Constanti- 
Rome, enthroned upon seven hills, Constantinople nople 
occupies a site justly celebrated as the noblest in the world. It 
stands in Europe, looks on Asia, and commands the entrance 
to both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. As a sixteenth 


338 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

century writer pointed out, Constantinople “is a city which 
Nature herself has designed to be the mistress of the world.” 



The position of Constantinople made it difficult to attack 
but easy to defend. To surround the city an enemy would 
Constanti- have to be strong upon both land and sea. A 
nopie as a hostile army, advancing through Asia Minor, 
natural citadel f oun( j f ur ther advance arrested by the long, 

winding channel which the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmora, 
and the Dardanelles combine to form. A hostile fleet, coming 
by way of the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, faced grave 
difficulties in attempting to penetrate the narrow strait into 
which this waterway contracts at each extremity. On the 
landward side the line of defense was so short — about four 
miles in width — that it could be strongly fortified and held 
by a small force against large numbers. During the Middle 
Ages the rear of the city was protected by two huge walls, the 
remains of which are still visible. Constantinople, in fact, 
was all but impregnable. Though each new century brought a 
fresh horde of enemies, it resisted siege after siege and long 



















Exterior 


Interior 

SANCTA SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE 

Built by Justinian and dedicated on Christmas Day, 538 a.d. The main building is 
roofed over by a great central dome, 107 feet in diameter and 179 feet in height. After the 
Ottoman Turks turned the church into a mosque, a minaret was erected at each of the four 
exterior angles. The outside of Sancta Sophia is somewhat disappointing, but the interior, 
with its walls and columns of polished marble, granite, and porphyry, is magnificent. The 
crystal balustrades, pulpits, and large metal disks are Turkish. 


















































* ■ 







































































































Constantinople 


339 


stantinople 


continued to be the capital of what was left of the Roman 
Empire. 1 

Constantine had laid out his new city on an imposing scale 
and adorned it with the choicest treasures of art from Greece, 
Italy, and the Orient. Fourteen churches, four- Monuments 
teen palaces, eight public baths, and several of Con- 
triumphal arches are assigned to the founder of 
the city. His most 
stately building was 
the Hippodrome, an 
immense structure 
devoted to chariot 
races and all sorts 
of popular gather¬ 
ings. There new 
emperors, after their 
consecration in 
Sancta Sophia, were 
greeted by their sub¬ 
jects; there civic 
festivals were held; 
and there the last 
Roman triumphs 
were celebrated. 

Theodosius the 
Great built the 
principal gate of 
Constantinople, the 
“ Golden Gate,” as 
it was called, by 
which the emperors 
made their solemn 
entry into the city. 

But it was Justinian who, after Constantine, did most to adorn 



The Three Existing Monuments of the 
Hippodrome, Constantinople 

These three monuments preserve for us the exact line of 
the low wall, or spina, which divided the race course and 
around which the charioteers drove their furious steeds. The 
obelisk was transported from Egypt by Constantine. Be¬ 
tween it and the crumbling tower beyond is a pillar of three 
brazen serpents, originally set up at Delphi by the Greeks, 
after the battle of Plataea. On this trophy were engraved 
the names of the various states that sent soldiers to fight the 
Persians. 


1 Of the eight sieges to which Constantinople was subjected in medieval times, 
only two succeeded. In 1204 a.d. it was caDtured by the Venetians and in 1453 
A.D., by the Ottoman Turks. 



340 Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages 

the new capital by the Bosporus. He is said to have erected 
more than twenty-five churches in Constantinople and its 
suburbs. Of these, the most beautiful is the world-famed 
cathedral dedicated by Justinian to “Holy Wisdom.” On 
its completion the emperor declared that he had surpassed 


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Solomon’s Temple. Though nearly fourteen hundred years 
old and now defaced by vandal hands, it remains perhaps the 
supreme achievement of Christian architecture. 

Excepting Athens and Rome, no other European city can 
lay claim to so long and so important a history as Constantinople. 
Historic Her came a fter theirs was done. Throughout 
significance the Middle Ages Constantinople remained the 

stantinople most i m P ort ant city in Europe. When London, 
Paris, and Vienna were small and mean towns, 
Constantinople was a large and flourishing metropolis. The 
renown of the city penetrated even into barbarian lands. The 

















Constantinople 341 

Scandinavians called it Micklegarth, the “Great City”; the 
Russians knew of it as Tsarigrad, the “ City of the Caesars.” 
But its own people best described it as the “City guarded 
by God.” Here, for more than eleven centuries, was the 
capital of the Roman Empire. 

Studies 

1. Compare the area of the Roman Empire in the East in 476 a.d. with its 
area in 800 a.d. (see the maps facing pages 248 and 308). 2 . Compare the respec¬ 

tive areas in 800 a.d. of the Roman Empire in the East and Charlemagne’s empire. 
3. On the map, page 338, locate Adriano pie, Gallipoli, Nicaea, the Bosporus, Sea 
of Marmora, and Dardanelles. 4. Who were Belisarius, Chosroes II, and Hera- 
clius? 5 . In your opinion which of the two rival imperial lines after 800 a.d. 
had the better title to represent ancient Rome? 6. Why has Justinian been called 
the “lawgiver of civilization”? 7. Why was it necessary to codify Roman law? 
Is the English Common law codified? 8. Compare the work of Alexandrian and 
Byzantine scholars in preserving learning. 9. “The Byzantines were the teachers 
of the Slavs, as the Romans were of the Germans.” Comment on this statement. 
10. The Byzantine Empire was once called “a gigantic mass of mould, a thousand 
years old.” Does this seem a fair description? n. “The history of medieval 
civilization is, in large measure, the history of the Roman Empire in the East.” 
Comment on this statement. 12. Show that Constantinople formed “a natural 
citadel.” 13. On the map, page 340, trace the successive walls of Constantinople. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE ORIENT AGAINST THE OCCIDENT: RISE AND SPREAD 
OF ISLAM, 622-1058 A.DA 

120 . Arabia and the Arabs 

Arabia, a vast peninsula between the Persian Gulf, the 
Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea, forms the link between Asia 
The Arabian and Africa. It is connected with Asia by the 
peninsula ar id plains extending northward to the Euphrates; 
with Africa, by the equally arid isthmus of Suez. The country 
has never supported a large population. The interior, except 
for occasional oases, is a desert, inhabited only by wandering 
tribes. Along the southern and western coasts, between the 
mountains and the sea, the soil is generally fertile, the climate 
temperate, and the rainfall sufficient. Here the chief cities and 
towns are located. 

The Bedouin Arabs, by which name the nomadic inhabitants 
of the desert are known, claim Ishmael, the son of Abraham 
The Bedou- an d half-brother of Isaac, as their ancestor. The ! 

ins of the life which they lead in the Arabian wilderness 

closely resembles that of the Hebrew patriarchs, I 
as described in the Old Testament. The Bedouins are shep¬ 
herds and herdsmen, continually moving with their sheep and j 
camels from one pasturage and water-hole to another. Their 
virtues — hospitality to the stranger, generosity, faithfulness 
to the ties of kinship — are those of a nomadic, barbarian people. 
Such also are their vices — love of fighting and plunder, 
revengefulness, and impatience of restraint. Nothing like a 
settled government is known to them. The only tribal author- j 
ity is that of the chief, or “sheik,” who, because of his birth, 
courage, or wealth, has been chosen to the leadership. This 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History , chapter vi, “The Teachings I 
of Mohammed.” 


342 



Mohammed: Prophet and Statesman 343 

description of the Bedouins to-day applies equally well to them 
in the age of Mohammed, during the sixth century. 

The Arabs who settled along the southern and western coasts 
of the peninsula had reached in the sixth century a consider¬ 
able degree of civilization. They practiced agricul- The seden- 
ture and carried on a flourishing trade across the tar y Arabs 
Red Sea and even to distant India. Between these sedentary 
Arabs and the Bedouins raged constant feuds, leading to much 
petty warfare. The hundreds of tribes throughout the peninsula 
nevertheless preserved a feeling of national unity, which was 
greatly strengthened by Mohammed’s appearance on the scene. 

The city of Mecca, located about fifty miles from the Red 
Sea, was a commercial metropolis and the center of Arabian 
heathenism. The Arab tribes ceased fighting Arabian 
for four months in every year, and went up to heathenism 
Mecca to buy and sell and visit the famous sanctuary called 
the Kaaba. Here were three hundred and sixty idols and a 
small, black stone (probably a meteorite), which legend declared 
had been brought from heaven. Although most of the Arabs 
were idolaters, yet some of them recognized the “Unknown 
God” of the Semites, Allah, the Creator of all things. Arabia 
at this time contained many Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians, 
who helped to spread abroad the conception of one God and thus 
to prepare the way for a prophet of a monotheistic religion. 

121. Mohammed: Prophet and Statesman, 622-632 A.D. 

Mohammed, 1 born at Mecca about 570 a.d., belonged to 
the tribe of the Koreish, who had long been guardians of the 
sacred Kaaba. Left an orphan at an early age, Early life of 
the future prophet was obliged to earn his own Mohammed 
living. He served first as a shepherd on the hillsides of Mecca. 
While still a youth he became a camel-driver and twice crossed 
the deserts with caravans to Syria. Mohammed did not re¬ 
ceive a regular education; it is doubtful whether he could 
read or write. His marriage, when about twenty-five years of 
age, to a rich widow named Khadija, brought him wealth and 
1 The earlier spelling was Mahomet. 


344 


Rise and Spread of Islam 



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Mohammed: Prophet and Statesman 345 

consideration. For some time, henceforth, he led the life of a 
prosperous merchant of Mecca. 

Mohammed seems always to have been a spiritually minded 
man. He could not reconcile the gross idolatry of the Arabs 
with that belief in the unity of God which he him- Mohammed’s 
self had reached. When he was forty years old new religion 
the call came to him in a vision (he said) to preach a new 
religion to the Arabs. It was very simple, but in its simplicity 
lay its strength: “There is no god but God, and Mohammed is 
the prophet of God.” 

The prophet made his first converts in his wife, his children, 
and the friends who knew him best. Then, becoming bolder, 
he began to preach publicly in Mecca. He met a The Hegira, 
discouraging reception. A few slaves and poor 622 A D - 
freemen became his followers, but most of the citizens of Mecca 
regarded him as a madman. Mohammed’s disciples, called 
Moslems, 1 were bitterly persecuted by the Koreish, who re¬ 
sented the prophet’s attacks on idolatry and feared the loss of 
their privileges at the Kaaba. Mohammed and his converts 
finally took refuge in Medina, where some of the inhabitants 
had already accepted his teachings. This was the famous 
Hegira (Flight of the Prophet). 2 

At Medina Mohammed occupied a position of high honor and 
influence. The people welcomed him gladly and made him their 
chief magistrate. As his adherents increased in Later life of 
number, Mohammed began to combine fighting Mohammed 
with preaching. His military expeditions against the Arab 
tribes proved to be very successful. Many of the conquered 
Bedouins enlisted under his banner and at length captured 
Mecca for the prophet. He treated its inhabitants leniently, 
but threw down all the idols in the Kaaba. Most of the Arabs 
now abandoned idolatry and accepted the new religion. 

Mohammed did not long enjoy his position as uncrowned 

1 From the Arabic muslim, “one who surrenders himself” (to God’s will). Dur¬ 
ing the Middle Ages the Moslems to their Christian enemies were commonly known 
as Saracens, a term which is still in use. 

2 The year 622 a . d ., in which the Hegira occurred, marks the beginning of the 
Mohammedan era. 


346 


Rise and Spread of Islam 


king of Arabia. He died in 632 a.d., at Medina, where he was 
buried and where his tomb is still visited by pious Moslems. 
Death of His f°U° wers could scarcely believe that their 
Mohammed, great leader had gone away from them forever. 
632 A.D. They were ready to worship him as a god, until old 
Abu Bekr, Mohammed’s father-in-law, rebuked them with the 
words: “Whoso worshipeth Mohammed, let him know that 
Mohammed is dead; but whoso worshipeth God, let him know 
that God liveth and dieth not.” 

The character of Mohammed has been variously estimated. 
Moslem writers make him a saint; Christian writers, until 
Mohammed’s recent times, have called him an “impostor.” 
character We know that he was a man of simple habits, 
who, even in the days of his prosperity, lived on dates, barley 
bread, and water, mended his woolen garments, and attended 
to his own wants. He was mild and gentle, a lover of children, 
devoted to his friends, and forgiving toward his foes. He seems 
to have won the admiration of all with whom he came in con¬ 
tact. We know, too, that Mohammed was so deeply impressed 
with the consciousness of his religious mission that he was 
ready to give up wealth and an honorable position and face 
for years the ridicule and hatred of the people of Mecca. 
His faults — deceitfulness, superstitiousness, sensuality — were 
those of the Arabs of his time. Their existence in Mohammed’s 
character should not prevent our recognition of his real great¬ 
ness as a prophet and as a statesman. 

122. Islam and the Koran 

The religion which Mohammed preached is called Islam, 
an Arabic word meaning “surrender,” or “resignation.” This 

religion has its sacred book, the Koran. It con- 
The Koran . 6 . . ’ 

tarns the speeches, prayers, and other utterances 

of Mohammed at various times during his career. The doc¬ 
trines found in the Koran show many adaptations from the 
Jewish and Christian religions. Like them Islam emphasizes 
the unity of God. The Moslem cry — “Allah Akhar /” “God 
is Great!” — forms its cardinal principle. Like them, also, 


Islam and the Koran 


347 


Islam recognizes the existence of prophets, including Abraham, 
Moses, and Jesus, but insists that Mohammed was the last and 
greatest of the prophets. The existence of angels and demons 
is recognized. The chief of the demons, Iblis, bears some re¬ 
semblance to the Jewish Satan and the Christian Devil. The 
account of the creation and fall of man is taken, with varia¬ 
tions, from the Old Testament. The descriptions of the resur¬ 
rection of the dead, the last judgment, and paradise and hell, 



From a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 

the former for believers in Islam, the latter for those who have 
refused to accept it, were also largely borrowed from Judaism. 

The Koran imposes on the faithful Moslem five great obli¬ 
gations. First, he must recite, at least once in his life, aloud, 
correctly, and with full understanding, the short observance 
creed: “ There is no god but God, and Mohammed of Islam 
is the prophet of God.” Second, he must pray five times a 
day: at dawn, just after noon, before sunset, just after sunset, 
and at the end of the day. The hour of prayer is announced 
from the tall minaret of the mosque by a crier (muezzin ). Third, 
he must observe a strict fast, from morning to night, during 
every day of Ramnddn, the ninth month of the Mohammedan 
year. Fourth, he must give alms to the poor. Fifth, he must, 
“if he is able,” undertake at least one pilgrimage to Mecca. 







348 Rise and Spread of Islam 

The annual visit of thousands of pilgrims to the holy city helps 
to preserve the feeling of brotherhood among Moslems all over 
the world. These five obligations are the “pillars” of Islam. 

Islam as a religious system is exceedingly simple. It does 
not provide any elaborate ceremonies of worships and per- 
Organization mits no a l tars > pictures, or images in the mosque, 
of Islam Islam even lacks a priesthood. Every Moslem 
acts as his own priest. There is, however, an official, who on 
Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath, offers up public prayers 
in the mosque and delivers a sermon to the assembled worshipers. 
All work is suspended during this service, but at its close secular 
activities are resumed. 

The Koran furnishes a moral code for the adherents of Islam. 
It contains some important prohibitions. The Moslem is not 

, to make images, to engage in games of chance, to 
ingsofthe eat pork, or to drink wine. This last prohibi- 
Koran tion has saved the Mohammedan world from the 

degradation and misery which alcohol has introduced into 
Christian lands. To Mohammed strong drink was “the mother 
of all evil,” and drunkenness, a sin. The Koran also inculcates 
many active virtues, including reverence toward parents, pro¬ 
tection of widows and orphans, charity toward the poor, kind¬ 
ness to slaves, and gentle treatment of the lower animals. On 
the whole, it must be admitted that the laws of the Koran did 
much to restrain the vices of the Arabs and to provide them with 
higher standards of right and wrong. Islam marked a great 
advance over Arabian heathenism. 

123. Expansion of Islam in Asia and Egypt 

Islam was a conquering religion, for it proclaimed the right¬ 
eousness of a “holy war,” or jihad, against unbelievers. It 
Islam as a promised rich booty for those who fought and 
religion of won, and paradise for those who fell. The Arab 

conquest soldier, dying on the battlefield, expected to be 

carried away by bright-eyed maidens to a garden of delight, 
where, reclining on soft cushions and rugs, he was to enjoy for¬ 
ever an existence of sensual ease. 


Expansion of Islam in Asia and Egypt 349 

The creation of the Arabian power must not be understood, 
however, as solely a religious movement. Pride and greed 
combined with fanaticism to draw the Arabs out T , 

Islam as a 

01 the desert upon a career of conquest. Their political 
warlike tribes, feeling a sense of superiority to force 
other peoples, were eager to overrun the rich districts of western 
Asia, much as the Germans had overrun western Europe. Islam 
strengthened the racial pride of the Arabs, united them into one 
nation, and gave them an effective organization for world-wide 
rule. 

The most extensive conquests of the Arabs were made within 
ten years after Mohammed’s death. During this time the 

Moslem warriors, though poorly armed, ill-dis- . 

... . . . . _ , ’ , Arab con- 

ciplmed, and m every battle greatly outnumbered, quests in the 

attacked with success the two strongest military East, 632-642 

powers then in the world — Rome and Persia. 

They seized from the Roman Empire in the East the provinces 

of Syria and Palestine, with the cities of Damascus, Antioch, 

and Jerusalem. 1 They took Mesopotamia from the Persians 

and then, invading Iran, overthrew the Persian power. 2 Egypt 

was also subjugated by these irresistible soldiers of the Crescent. 

The sweeping conquests of the decade 632-642 a.d. were fol¬ 
lowed in later years by a further extension of the boundaries of 
Arabian Empire. The Arabs sent their victorious Later Arab 
armies beyond the Oxus and Indus rivers to central conquests 
Asia and India. They captured the island of Cyprus, annexed 
parts of Armenia and Asia Minor, and at length threatened to 
take Constantinople. Had that city fallen, all eastern Europe 
would have been laid open to invasion. 

The first attempts on Constantinople were made by sea and 
were repulsed, but early in the eighth century the city had 
to face a combined attack by a Moslem navy and 
army. The eastern emperor, Leo the Isaurian, constanti- 
conducted a heroic defense, using with much nopie, 716- 
effectiveness the celebrated mixture known as 
“ Greek fire.” This combustible, probably composed of sulphur, 
1 See page 333. 2 See pages 219, 332. 





35o 


Rise and Spread of Islam 

naphtha, and quicklime, was poured or hurled on the enemy’s 
ships in order to burn them. “Greek fire,” the rigors of an 
uncommonly severe winter, and timely aid received by the em¬ 
peror from the Bulgarians at length compelled the Arabs to 
beat a retreat. Their failure to take Constantinople gave the 
Roman Empire in the East another long lease of life. 



Naval Battle Showing Use of “ Greek Fire ” 

From a Byzantine manuscript of the fourteenth century at Madrid. “Greek fire” in 
marine warfare was most commonly propelled through long tubes of copper, which were 
placed on the prow of a ship and managed by a gunner. Combustibles might also be kept in 
tubes flung by hand and exploded on board the enemy’s vessel. 

124. Expansion of Islam in North Africa and Spain 

Having occupied Egypt, the Arabs began to overrun North 
Africa, which Justinian, little more than a century earlier, had 
North Africa reconquered from the Vandals. 1 The Romanized 
subdued provincials made only a slight resistance to the 
Moslem armies. A few of the great cities held out for a time, 
but after the capture and destruction of Carthage 2 Arab rule 
was soon established over the Mediterranean coast from Egypt 
to the Atlantic. 

Islam made in North Africa one of its most permanent con- 
Arabs and quests. Many of the Christian inhabitants appear 
Berbers to have withdrawn to Spain and Sicily, leav¬ 
ing the field clear for the introduction of Arabian civilization. 

1 See page 330. 2 See page 24S> 












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Expansion of Islam in North Africa and Spain 351 

The Arabs who settled in North Africa gave their religion and 
government to the Berbers, as the natives of the country were 
called, and to some extent intermingled with them. Arabs and 
Berbers still comprise the population of North Africa, though 
their once independent states have now been absorbed by Euro¬ 
pean powers. 

The subjugation of Spain came next. An army of Arabs and 
Berbers crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and for the first time 
confronted the Germans. The Visigothic king¬ 
dom, 1 already much enfeebled, proved to be an of U Spa!n tl0n 
easy prey. A single battle made the invaders be s un > 
masters of half of Spain. Their hosts soon swept 
northward to the Pyrenees. Only small districts in the north¬ 
ern part of the Spanish peninsula remained unconquered. 

The Moslems were not stopped by the Pyrenees. They 
captured many of the old Roman cities in the south of Gaul and 
then advanced to the north, attracted, apparently, Gaul 
by the booty to be found in Christian monasteries inva ded 
and churches. In the vicinity of Tours they encountered the 
great army which Charles Martel, the chief minister of the 
Frankish king, 2 had collected to oppose their advance. 

The battle of Tours seems to have continued for several 
days. A Spanish chronicler tells us that the heavy infantry 
of the Franks stood “immovable as a wall, inflexi- Battle of 
ble as a block of ice” against the desperate assaults Tours, 
of the Moslem horsemen. When the Franks, after 732 A D ‘ 
the last day’s fighting, wished to renew the struggle, they found 
that the enemy had fled, leaving a camp filled with the spoils 
of war. This engagement, though famous in history, was 
scarcely decisive. The Moslems maintained themselves for 
some time in southern Gaul. It was the Frankish ruler, Pepin 
the Short, who annexed their possessions there and drove them 
back across the Pyrenees to Spain. 3 


1 See page 244. 2 See page 306. 

3 For Charlemagne’s Spanish conquests, see page 309. 


35 2 


Rise and Spread of Islam 


125. The Caliphate and its Disruption, 632-1058 A.D. 

The title of caliph, meaning “successor” or “representative,” 
had first been assumed by Mohammed’s father-in-law, Abu 
Bekr, who was chosen to succeed the prophet as 
“ (Orthodox ” the civil and religious head of the Moslem world, 
caliphs, After him followed Omar, who had been one of 

Mohammed’s most faithful adherents, and then 
Othman and Ali, both sons-in-law of Mohammed. These 
four rulers are sometimes known as the “Orthodox” caliphs, 
because their right to the succession was universally acknowl¬ 
edged by Moslems. 

After Ali’s death the governor of Syria, Moawiya by name, 
succeeded in making himself caliph of the Moslem world. This 
. usurper converted the caliphate into a hereditary, 

caliphs at 'instead of an elective, office, and established the 
6^ m ?5() U A D dynasty the Ommiads. 1 Their capital was 
no longer Medina in Arabia, but the Syrian city 
of Damascus. The descendants of Mohammed’s family re¬ 
fused, however, to recognize the Ommiads as legitimate caliphs. 
In 750 a.d. a sudden revolt, headed by the party of the Abba- 
sids, 2 established a new dynasty. The Abbasids treacherously 
murdered nearly all the members of the Ommiad family, but 
one survivor escaped to Spain, where he founded at Cordova 
an independent Ommiad dynasty. Early in the tenth century 
this became the caliphate of Cordova. About the same time 
North Africa and Egypt united in another caliphate with its 
capital at Cairo. 

The Abbasids continued to reign over the Moslems in Asia 
for more than three hundred years. The most celebrated 
The Abbasid Abbasid caliphs was Harun-al-Rashid (Aaron 
caliphs, 750- the Just), a contemporary of Charlemagne, to 
whom the Arab ruler sent several presents, includ¬ 
ing an elephant and a water-clock which struck the hours. 
The tales of Harun-al-Rashid’s magnificence, his gold and sil¬ 
ver, his silks and gems, his rugs and tapestries, reflect the 

1 So called from a leadiug family of Mecca, to which Moawiya belonged. 

2 So called from Abbas, an uncle of Mohammed. 


Arabian Civilization 


353 


luxurious life of the Abbasid rulers. Gradually, however, their 
power declined, and the Asiatic provinces became practically 
independent. This process of dismemberment went on until 
1058 a.d., when the Seljuk Turks took over the caliph’s political 
authority. He remained, however, the religious head of Islam. 1 



The Abbasids removed their capital from Damascus to Bag¬ 
dad on the banks of the middle Euphrates. The new city, 
under the fostering care of the caliphs, grew with Bagdad 
great rapidity. Its population in the ninth cen¬ 
tury is said to have reached two millions. It was the largest 
and richest city in the Moslem world. 


126. Arabian Civilization 

The conquests of the Arabs brought them into contact with 
highly developed peoples whose culture they absorbed and to 
some extent improved. They owed most to Persia, The Arabs 
and, after Persia, to Greece, through the empire at as absorbers 
Constantinople. In their hands there was some- of civilization 

1 Descendants of the Abbasids subsequently took up their abode in Egypt. 
Through them the claim to the caliphate passed to the Ottoman Turks. The 
Turkish sultan continued to call himself caliph of the Moslem world until 1923 A.D., 
when the caliphate was formally abolished. 












354 


Rise and Spread of Islam 


Agriculture 


what the same fusion of East and West as Alexander the 
Great had sought to accomplish. Greek science and philos¬ 
ophy mingled with the arts of Persia and other Oriental 
lands. Arabian civilization, for about four centuries under the 
Ommiad and Abbasid caliphs, far surpassed anything to be 
found in western Europe. 

Many improvements in agriculture were due to the Arabs. 
They had a good system of irrigation, practiced rotation of 
crops, employed fertilizers, and understood how 
to graft and produce new varieties of plants and 
fruits. We have received from the Arabs cotton, flax, hemp, 
buckwheat, rice, sugar cane, and coffee, various vegetables, 
including asparagus, artichokes, and beans, and such fruits as 
melons, oranges, lemons, apricots, and plums. 

The Arabs excelled in various manufactures. Damascus 
was famous for its brocades, tapestries, and blades of tempered 
Manufac- steel. The Moorish cities in Spain had also their 
turing special productions: Cordova, leather; Toledo, 

armor; and Granada, rich silks. Arab craftsmen taught the 
Venetians to make crystal and plate glass. The work of Arab 
potters and weavers was at once the admiration and despair 
of its imitators in western Europe. The Arabs knew the secrets 
of dyeing, and they made a kind of paper. Their textile fabrics 
and articles of metal were distinguished for beauty of design 
and perfection of workmanship. European peoples during the 
early Middle Ages received the greater part of their manufac¬ 
tured articles of luxury through the Arabs. 1 

The products of Arab farms and workshops were carried far 
and wide throughout medieval lands. The Arabs were keen 
merchants, and Mohammed had expressly encour¬ 
aged commerce by declaring it agreeable to God. 
The Arabs traded with India, China, the East Indies (Java 
and Sumatra), the interior of Africa, Russia, and even with 


Commerce 


1 The European names of some common articles reveal the Arabic sources from 
which they were first derived. Thus, damask comes from Damascus, muslin from 
Mosul, gauze from Gaza, cordovan (a kind of leather) from Cordova, and morocco 
leather from North Africa. 


Arabian Civilization 


355 


the Baltic lands. Bagdad, which commanded both land and 
water routes, was the chief center of this commerce, but other 
cities of western Asia, North Africa, and Spain shared in its 
advantages. The bazaar, or merchants’ quarter, was found 
in every Moslem city. 



Interior of the Great Mosque of Cordova 


The great mosque of Cordova, begun in the eighth century, was gradually enlarged during 
the following centuries to its present dimensions, 570 by 425 feet. The building, one of the 
largest in the world, has now been turned into a cathedral. The most striking feature of the 
interior is the forest of porphyry, jasper, and marble pillars supporting open Moorish arches. 
Originally there were 1200 of these pillars, but many have been destroyed. 


The trade of the Arabs, their wide conquests, and their re¬ 
ligious pilgrimages to Mecca vastly increased their knowledge 
of the world. They were the best geographers of Geographical 
the Middle Ages. An Abbasid caliph, the son of knowled g e 
Harun-al-Rashid, had the Greek Geography of Ptolemy 1 trans¬ 
lated into Arabic and enriched the work with illuminated maps. 
Arab scholars compiled encyclopedias describing foreign coun¬ 
tries and peoples, constructed celestial spheres, and measured 
closely the arc of the meridian in order to calculate the size of 


1 See page 133. 















356 


Rise and Spread of Islam 


the earth. There is some reason to believe that the mariner’s 
compass was first introduced into Europe by the Arabs. 

Schools and universities flourished in Moslem lands. The 
largest institution of learning was at Cairo, where the lectures 
Education P r °f essors were attended by thousands of 

students. Famous universities also existed in Bag¬ 
dad and Cordova. Moslem scholars especially delighted in 
the study of philosophy. Arabic translations of Aristotle’s 1 
writings made the ideas of that great thinker familiar to the 
students of western Europe, where the knowledge of Greek had 
all but died out. The Arabs also formed extensive libraries 
of many thousands of manuscripts, all carefully arranged and 
catalogued. Their libraries and universities, especially in 
Spain, were visited by many Christians, who thus became ac¬ 
quainted with Moslem learning and helped to introduce it into 
Europe. 

The Arabs have been considered to be the founders ©f modern 
experimental science. They were relatively skillful chemists, 
Chemistry f° r they discovered a number of new compounds 
and medicine (such as alcohol, aqua regia, nitric acid, and cor¬ 
rosive sublimate) and understood the preparation of mercury 
and of various oxides of metals. In medicine the Arabs based 
their investigations on those of the Greeks, but made many 
additional contributions to the art of healing. They studied 
physiology and hygiene, dissected the human body, performed 
difficult surgical operations, used anaesthetics, and wrote trea¬ 
tises on such diseases as measles and smallpox. 

The Arabs had a strong taste for mathematics. Here again 
they carried further the old Greek investigations. In arith- 

Mathematics metic they used the s °- called “Arabic” figures, 
and astron- which were probably borrowed from India. The 
°rny Arabic numerals gradually supplanted in western 

Europe the awkward Roman numerals. Their mathematical 
knowledge enabled the Arabs to make considerable progress in 
astronomy. Observatories at Bagdad and Damascus were 
erected as early as the ninth century. Some of the astronomical 

1 See page 275. 


A fortress and palace of the Moorish rulers of Granada. Built chiefly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The outer walls are severely plain, but the interior, 
with its marble pillars and arches, walls paneled with painted tiles, fretted ceilings, and courts opened to sun and wind, is a miracle of beauty. 




357 
































































































































































































































































































































































































358 


Rise and Spread of Islam 


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zm 


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ni 

b al 


instruments which they constructed, including the sextant and 
the gnomon, are still in use. 1 

There are two Moslem productions in prose and verse which 
have attained wide popularity in European lands. The first 

work is the Thousand and One Nights , 
a collection of tales written in Arabic 
Romance and describing life and 
and poetry manners at the court of 
the Abbasids. The book, as we now 
have it, seems to have been composed 
as late as the fifteenth century, but it 
borrows much from earlier Arabic 
sources. Many of the tales are of 
Indian or Persian origin, but all have 
a thoroughly Moslem coloring. The 
second work is the Rubdiydt of the 
astronomer-poet of Persia, Omar 
Khayyam, who wrote about the be¬ 
ginning of the twelfth century. His 
Rubdiydt is a little volume of quat¬ 
rains, about five hundred in all, dis¬ 
tinguished for wit, satirical power, and 
a vein of melancholy, sometimes pen¬ 
sive, sometimes passionate. 

Painting and sculpture owe little to 
the Arabs, but their archi¬ 
tecture, based in part on 
Byzantine and Persian models, reached 
a high level of excellence. Swelling domes, vaulted roofs, arched 
porches, tall and graceful minarets, and the exquisite decorative 
patterns known as “arabesques” make many Arab buildings 
miracles of beauty. Glazed tiles, mosaics, and jeweled glass 
were extensively used for ornamentation. Among the best 



Capitals and Arabesques 
prom the Alhambra 

One of Mohammed’s laws for¬ 
bidding the use of idols was sub* 
sequently expanded by religious 
teachers into a prohibition of all 
imitations of human or animal 
forms in art. Sculptors who ob¬ 
served this prohibition relied for 
ornamentation on intricate geo¬ 
metrical designs known as ara¬ 
besques. These were carved in 
stone or molded in plaster. 


Architecture 


1 Many words in European languages beginning with the prefix al (the definite 
article in Arabic) show how indebted was Europe to the Arabs for scientific knowl¬ 
edge. In English these words include alchemy (whence chemistry), alcohol, alembic, 
algebra, alkali, almanac, Aldebaran (the star), etc. 













Arabian Civilization 


359 

known of Arab buildings are the so-called “Mosque of Omar” 
at Jerusalem, the Great Mosque of Cordova, and that archi¬ 
tectural gem, the Alhambra at Granada. 

Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the Arabian Empire at its widest extent. Lo¬ 
cate the more important cities, including Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus. 
Bagdad, Cairo, Alexandria, Granada, Cordova, and Seville. 2. Define the follow¬ 
ing: Kaaba; Islam; Koran; and caliph. 3. How did the geographical situation 
of Arabia preserve it from being conquered by Persians, Macedonians, or Romans? 
4. Why had the Arabs, until the time of Mohammed, played so inconspicuous a 
part in the history of the world? 5. Mohammed “began as a mule driver and 
ended as both a pope and a king.” Explain this statement. 6. How does Moham¬ 
med’s career in Mecca illustrate the saying that “a prophet is not without honor 
save in his own country ” ? 7. What resemblances may be traced between Islam on 

the one side and Judaism and Christianity on the other side? 8. Did religion have 
anything to do with the migrations of the Germans? How was it with the Arabs? 
9. Contrast the methods of propagating Christianity in Europe with those of spread¬ 
ing Islam in Asia. 10. Why is the defeat of the Moslems before Constantinople 
regarded as more significant than their defeat at the battle of Tours? 11. Compare 
the eastern limits of the Arabian Empire with those of Alexander’s empire (maps 
facing pages 124, 350). 12. Show that the Arabian Empire, because of its geo¬ 

graphical position, was less easily defended than the Roman Empire. 13. Locate 
on the map facing page 350 the following commercial cities in the Arabian Empire: 
Samarkand; Cabul; Bokhara; Mosul; Kairwan; Fez; 'Seville; and Toledo. 14. Can 
you suggest any reason why the Arabs did little in painting and sculpture ? 15. What 

are some of the best-known stories in the Thousand and One Nights? 16. Discuss 
the justice of this statement: “If our ideas and our arts go back to antiquity, all 
the inventions which make life easy and agreeable come to us from the Arabs.” 
17. “From the eighth to the twelfth century the world knew but two civilizations, 
that of Byzantium and that of the Arabs.” Comment on this statement. 18. Show 
that Islam was an heir to the Graeco-Oriental civilization. 


CHAPTER XVI 

THE NORTHMEN AND THE NORMANS TO 1066 A.DJ 


127. Scandinavia and the Northmen 

The Northmen, with whose conquests and settlements we 
are concerned in the present chapter, belonged to the Teutonic 
Renewed family of peoples. They were kinsmen of the 
Teutonic mi- Germans, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Dutch, 
grations Their migrations may be regarded, therefore, as 
the last wave of that great Teutonic movement which in earlier 
times had inundated western Europe and overwhelmed the 
Roman Empire. 

The Northmen lived, as their descendants still live, in Den¬ 
mark, Sweden, and Norway. The name Scandinavia is some¬ 
times applied to all three countries, but more com- 
Scandmavia monly it is res tricted to the peninsula comprising 

Sweden and Norway. 

Sweden, with the exception of the northern highlands, is 
mostly a level region, watered by copious streams, dotted with 
many lakes, and sinking down gradually to the 
Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. The fact 
that Sweden faces these inland waters determined the course of 
her development as a nation. She never has had any aspira¬ 
tions to become a great oceanic power. Her whole historic life 
has centered about the Baltic. 

Norway, in contrast to Sweden, faces the Atlantic. The 
country is little more than a strip of rugged seacoast reach¬ 
ing northward to well within the Arctic Circle. 
Were it not for the influence of the “Gulf Stream 
drift,” much of Norway would be a frozen waste for the greater 
part of the year. Vast forests of fir, pine, and birch still cover 


Sweden 


Norway 


1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter vii, “The Saga 
of a Viking” ; chapter viii, “Alfred the Great” ; chapter ix, “William the Conqueror 
and the Normans in England.” 

360 


The Viking Age 


361 


the greater part of the country, and the land which can be used 
for farming and grazing does not exceed eleven per cent of the 
entire area. But Norway, like Greece, has an extent of 
shore-line out of all proportion to its superficial area. The 
fiords, or inlets of the sea, are so numerous that the total length 
of the coast approximates twelve thousand miles. Slight wonder 
that the Vikings, 1 as they called themselves, should feel the lure 
of the ocean and should put forth in their frail barks upon the 
“pathway of the swans” in search of booty and adventure. 

The Swedes and Norwegians, together with their kinsmen, 
the Danes, probably settled in Scandinavia long before the 
beginning of the Christian era. They gradually Prehistoric 
became acquainted with the use of bronze and times in 
afterwards with that of iron. Excavations in Scan(iinavia 
ancient grave mounds have revealed implements of the finest 
polished stone, beautiful bronze swords, and coats of iron ring 
mail, besides gold and silver 
ornaments which may have 
been imported from southern 
Europe. The ancient Scandi¬ 
navians have left to us curious 
records of the past in their pic¬ 
ture writing chiseled on the flat 
surface of rocks. The objects 
represented include boats with 

as many as thirty men in them, horses drawing two-wheeled 
carts, spans of oxen, farmers engaged in plowing, and warriors 
on horseback. By the close of the prehistoric period the 
northern peoples were also familiar with a form of the Greek 
alphabet (the “runes” 2 ) and with the art of writing. 



Swedish Rock Carving 

Shows a man plowing. 


128. The Viking Age 


The Viking Age, with which historic times begin in northern 
Europe, extends from about 800 a.d. to the introduction of 

1 The word perhaps comes from the old Norse vik, a bay, and means “one who 
dwells by a bay or fiord.” Another meaning assigned to Viking is “warrior.” 

2 See the illustration, page 240. 




3 < 5 2 


The Northmen and the Normans 


Christianity in the tenth and eleventh centuries. This was the 
period when the Northmen, realizing that the sea offered the 
Dawn of his- P^kest road to wealth and conquest, began to 
tory in make long voyages to foreign lands. They some- 

Scandmavia times went as traders and exchanged the furs, wool, 
and fish of Scandinavia for the clothing, ornaments, and other 
articles of luxury found in neighboring countries. It was no far 
cry from merchant to freebooter, and, in fact, expeditions for 
the sake of plunder seem to have been even more popular with 
the Northmen than peaceful commerce. 

Whether the Northmen engaged in trade or in warfare, good 
ships and good seamanship were indispensable to them. They 
The North- became the boldest sailors of the early Middle 

men as Ages, pushing out into the uncharted main and 

steering their course only by observation of the 
sun and stars. The Northmen were thus led to make those 
remarkable explorations in the Atlantic Ocean and the polar 
seas which added so greatly to geographical knowledge. 

It was not uncommon for a Viking chieftain, after his days 
of sea-roving had ended, to be buried in his ship, over which 
Ships Of the a grave chamber, covered with earth, would be 
Northmen erected. The discovery of several of these burial 
ships enables us to form a good idea of Viking vessels. The 
largest of them might reach a length of seventy feet and hold as 
many as one hundred and twenty men. A fleet of the North¬ 
men, carrying several thousand warriors, mail-clad and armed 
with spears, swords, and battle-axes, was indeed formidable. 

A very important source of information for the Viking Age 
consists of the writings called sagas. 1 These narratives are 
The sa as * n P rose > hut they were often based on the songs 
which minstrels sang to appreciative audiences 
assembled at the banqueting board of a Viking chieftain. It 
was not until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that the sagas 
were committed to writing. This was done chiefly in Iceland, 
and so it happens that we must look to that distant island for 
the beginnings of Scandinavian literature. 

1 The word is derived from old Norse segya, “ to say ” ; compare German sagen. 


Scandinavian Heathenism 


363 


The sagas belong to different classes. The oldest of them 
relate the deeds of Viking heroes and their fam- subject 
ilies. Others deal with the lives of Norwegian matter of the 
kings. Some of the most important sagas describe sagas 
the explorations and settlements of the Northmen and hence 
possess considerable value as historical records. 



A Viking Ship 


The Gokstad vessel is of oak, twenty-eight feet long and sixteen feet broad in the center. 
It has seats for sixteen pairs of rowers, a mast for a single sail, and a rudder on the right or 
starboard side. The gunwale was decorated with a series of shields, painted alternately black 
and gold. This ship, which probably dates from about 900, was found on the shore of 
Christiania Fiord. A still larger ship, of about the same date, was taken in 1904 from the 
grave of a Norwegian queen at Oseberg. With the queen had been buried a four-wheeled 
wagon, three sleighs, three beds, two chests, a chair, a large loom, and various kitchen utensils, 
in fact, everything needed for her comfort in the other world. 


Another literary production of the Viking Age consists of the 
poems known as the Elder Edda. Like the prose sagas, they 
were collected and arranged in Iceland during the Eddaic 
later Middle Ages. The Elder Edda is a storehouse poems 
of old Norse mythology. It forms our chief source of informa¬ 
tion concerning Scandinavian heathenism before the introduc¬ 
tion of Christianity. 

129 . Scandinavian Heathenism 

The religion of the Northmen bore a close resemblance to 
that of the other Teutonic peoples. The leading deity was 


3 6 4 


The Northmen and the Normans 


Odin (German Woden), whose exploits are celebrated in many 
of the songs of the Elder Edda. Odin was represented as a 
The god tall, gray-bearded chieftain, carrying a shield and 

Odin a spear which never missed its mark. Though a 

god of battle, Odin was also a lover of wisdom. He discovered 
the runes, which gave him secret knowledge of all things. Leg¬ 
end told how Odin killed a mighty giant, whose body was cut 
into pieces to form the world : the earth was his flesh, the water 
his blood, the rocks his bones, and the heavens his skull. Hav¬ 
ing created the world and peopled it with human beings, Odin 
retired to the sacred city of Asgard, where he reigned in com¬ 
pany with his children. 

Enthroned beside Odin sat his oldest son, Thor (German 
Thunor), god of thunder and lightning. His weapon, the 
The god thunderbolt, was imagined as a hammer, and was 

Thor especially used by him to protect gods and men 

against the giants. Thor also possessed a belt of strength, 
which, when girded about him, doubled his power. 

Odin’s son Balder was the most beautiful and best beloved 
of the Scandinavian divinities. He was represented as a gentle 
Myth of deity of innocence and righteousness. As long as 

Balder he lived, evil could gain no real control in the world, 

and the power of the gods would remain unshaken. To pre¬ 
serve Balder from all danger his mother Frigga required every¬ 
thing on earth to swear never to harm her son. Only a single 
plant, the mistletoe, did not take the oath. The traitor Loki 
then gathered the mistletoe and came to an assembly where 
the gods were hurling all kinds of missiles at Balder, to show that 
nothing could hurt him. Loki asked the blind Hoder to throw 
the plant at Balder. Hoder did so, and Balder fell dead. The 
gods tried to recover him from Hel, the gloomy underworld, 
but Hel demanded as his ransom a tear from every living crea¬ 
ture. Gods, men, and even things inanimate wept for Balder, 
except one cruel giantess — Loki in disguise — who would not 
give a single tear. She said, “Neither living nor dead was 
Balder of any use to me. Let Hel keep what it has.” 

Disasters followed Balder’s death, An immense fire burned 


Scandinavian Heathenism 


365 


Valhalla 


up the world and the human race. The giants invaded Asgard 
and slaughtered its inhabitants. Odin fell a victim to the 
mighty wolf Fenris. Thor, having 
killed the Midgard serpent, was 
suffocated with the venom which 
the dying monster .. Twilight of 
cast over him. The the Gods ” 
end of all things arrived. This 
was the catastrophe which had 
been predicted of old — the “Twi¬ 
light of the Gods.” 

Besides the conception of Hel, 
the Northmen also framed the idea 
of Valhalla, 1 the abode to which 
Odin received the souls of those 
who had died, not 
ingloriously in their 
beds, but on the field of battle. 

A troop of divine maidens, the 
Valkyries, 2 rode through the air on 
Odin’s service to determine the 
issue of battles and to select brave 
warriors for Valhalla. The war¬ 
riors fought with one another by 
day, but at evening the slayer 
and the slain returned to Odin’s 
hall to feast mightily on boar’s 
flesh and drink deep draughts of 
mead. 

Christianity first gained a foothold in Denmark through the 
work of Roman Catholic missionaries sent out by Charlemagne’s 
son, Louis the Pious. Two centuries elapsed be- Christianiza _ 
fore the Danes were completely converted. The tion of the 
new faith spread from Denmark to Sweden. Northmen 
Norway owed its conversion largely to the crusading work of 
King Olaf, whose zeal for Christianity won him the title of Olaf 



Norse Metal Work 

Museum, Copenhagen 
A door from a church in Iceland; 
date, tenth or eleventh century. The 
iron knob is inlaid with silver. The 
slaying of a dragon is represented 
above and below is shown the Midgard 
serpent, which, with its tail in its 
mouth, encircled the earth. 


1 “Hall of the slain.’ 


2 “Choosers of the slain.” 










366 The Northmen and the Normans 

the Saint. The Norwegians carried Christianity to Iceland, 
where it supplanted the old heathenism in the year 1000 a.d. 

130. The Northmen in the West 

The Viking movement, which began when the Northmen were 
still heathen, was due principally to land-hunger. Like the 
Expansion of Arabs, the Northmen went forth from a sterile 
Scandinavia peninsula to find better homes abroad. The po¬ 
litical condition of Scandinavia in the ninth century also helps 
to explain the Viking movement. Denmark and Norway had 
now become strong kingdoms, whose rulers forced all who 
would not submit to their sway to leave the country. The 
numbers of the emigrants were thus swelled by exiles, out¬ 
laws, and other adventurers who turned to the sea in hope 
of gain. 

The Northmen started out as pirates and fell on the coasts 
of England, France, and Germany. They also found it easy to 
Raids of the ascend the rivers in their shallow boats and reach 
Northmen places far inland. The Northmen directed their 

attacks especially against the churches and monasteries, which 
were full of treasure and less easily defended than fortified towns. 
Their raids inspired such great terror that a special prayer was 
inserted in the church services: “From the fury of the North¬ 
men, good Lord, deliver us.” 

The incursions of the Northmen took place at first only in 
summer, but before long they began to winter in the lands which 
they visited. Early in the ninth century we find 
them making permanent settlements in Ireland, 
and for a time bringing a considerable part of that 
country under their control. The first cities on 
Irish soil, including Dublin and Limerick, were 
founded by the Northmen. Attacks on the western coast of 
Scotland soon followed. The Faroe Islands, the Orkneys, the 
Shetlands, and the Hebrides also received large numbers of 
Norse immigrants and long remained under Scandinavian 
control. 

The Northmen soon discovered Iceland, where Irish monks 


The North¬ 
men in 
Ireland, 
Scotland, 
and the 
islands 


The Northmen in the West 367 

had previously settled. Colonization began in 874 a.d. 1 One 
of the most valuable of the sagas — the “Book of the Land¬ 
taking”— describes the emigration to the island AT 
and enumerates the Vikmg chiefs who took part men in 
in the movement. Iceland soon became almost Iceland 
a second Norway in language, literature, and customs. It 
remains to-day an outpost of Scandinavian civilization. 



The first settlement of Greenland was the work of an Ice¬ 
lander, Eric the Red, who reached the island toward the end 
of the tenth century. He called the country The North _ 
Greenland, not because it was green, but because, m en in 
as he said, “there is nothing like a good name to Greenland 
attract settlers.” Norway and Greenland continued to enjoy 
a flourishing trade for several centuries. After the connection 

1 The Icelanders in 1874 a.d. celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the Scandi¬ 
navian settlement of their island. 








3 68 


The Northmen and the Normans 


with Norway had been severed, the Greenlanders joined the 
Eskimos and mingled with that primitive people. 

Two of the sagas give accounts of a voyage which Leif Erics¬ 
son, son of Eric the Red, made about 1000 &.d. to regions lying 
The North southward from Greenland. In the sagas they 
men in are called Helluland (stone-land), Markland (wood- 

Amenca land), and Vinland. Just what part of the coast 
of North America these countries occupied is an unsolved prob¬ 
lem. Leif Ericsson and the Greenlanders who followed him seem 
to have reached at least the shores of Labrador, Newfoundland, 
and Nova Scotia. They may have gone even farther southward, 
for the sagas describe regions where the climate was mild enough 
for wild vines and wild wheat to grow. The Northmen, how¬ 
ever, did not follow up their explorations by lasting settlements. 
All memory of the far western lands faded before long from the 
minds of men. The curtain fell on the New World, not again 
to rise until the time of Columbus and Cabot. 


Arctic ex¬ 
plorations 
of the North¬ 
men 


131. The Northmen in the East 

The Norwegians took the leading part in the Viking move¬ 
ment across the Atlantic. They also sailed far northward, 
rounding the North Cape and reaching the mouth 
of the Dwina River in the White Sea. Viking 
sailors, therefore, have the credit for undertaking 
the first voyages of exploration into the Arctic. 

The Swedes, on account of their geographical position, were 
naturally the most active in expeditions to eastern lands. They 
The North- crossed the Gulf of Bothnia and paid frequent 
men in visits to Finland. Its rude inhabitants, the Finns, 

Finland were re i a t e d i n language, and doubtless in blood 

also, to the Huns, Magyars, and other Asiatic peoples. Sweden 
ruled Finland throughout the Middle Ages. Russia obtained 
control of the country during the eighteenth century, but 
Swedish influence has made it largely Scandinavian in civi¬ 
lization. 

The activities of the Swedes also led them to establish settle¬ 
ments on the southern shore of the Baltic and far inland along 


The Northmen in the East 369 

the waterways leading into Russia. An old Russian chronicler 
declares that in 862 a.d. the Slavs sent an embassy to the 
Swedes, whom they called “Rus,” saying, “Our 
country is large and rich, but there is no order in men in 
it; come and rule over us.” The Swedes were not ** ussia 
slow to accept the invitation. Their leader, Ruric, established 
a dynasty which reigned in Russia for more than seven hundred 
years. 1 

The first Russian state centered in the city of Novgorod, 
near Lake Ilmen, where Ruric built a strong fortress. Nov¬ 
gorod during the Middle Ages was an important Novgorod 
station on the trade route between Constantinople and ^ ev 
and the Baltic. 2 Some of Ruric’s followers, passing southward 
along the Dnieper River, took possession of the small town of 
Kiev. It subsequently became the capital of the Scandinavian 
possessions in Russia. 

During the reign of Vladimir, a descendant of Ruric, the 

Christian religion gained its first foothold in Russia. We are 

told that Vladimir, having made up his mind to Christianity 

embrace a new faith, sent commissioners to Rome in Russia, 

988 A D 

and Constantinople, and also to the adherents 
of Islam and Judaism. His envoys reported in favor of the 
Greek Church, for their barbarian imagination had been so 
impressed by the majesty of the ceremonies performed in Sancta 
Sophia that “they did not know whether they were on earth 
or in heaven.” Vladimir accepted their report, ordered the 
idols -of Kiev to be thrown into the Dnieper, and had himself 
and his people baptized according to the rites of the Greek 
Church. At the same time he married a sister of the reigning 
emperor at Constantinople. Vladimir’s decision to adopt the 
Greek form of Christianity is justly regarded as one of the forma¬ 
tive influences in Russian history. It meant that the Slavs were 
to come under the religious influence of Constantinople, instead 
of under that of Rome. Furthermore, it meant that Byzantine 
civilization would henceforth gain an entrance into Russia. 


1 Russia in 1862 a.d. celebrated the millenary of her foundation by Ruric. 

2 See the map facing page 244. 


37 o 


The Northmen and the Normans 


132. Normandy and the Normans 

No part of western Europe suffered more severely from the 
Northmen than France. They first appeared on the French 
coast toward the end of Charlemagne’s reign. After that 
ruler’s death the wars of his grandsons left the empire defense- 
„ less, and the Northmen in consequence redoubled 

run by the their attacks. They sailed far up the Seine, the 

Northmen L 0 i rej and the Garonne to plunder and murder. 

Paris, then a small but important city, lay in the path of the 
invaders and more than once suffered at their hands. The de¬ 
struction by the Northmen of many monasteries was a loss to 
civilization, for the monastic establishments at this time were 
the chief centers of learning and culture. 

The history of the Northmen in France began in 911 a.d., 
when the Carolingian king granted to a Viking 
thegranfof chieftain, Rollo, dominion over the region about 

Normandy, the lower Seine. Rollo on his part agreed to ac¬ 

cept Christianity and to acknowledge the French 
ruler as his lord. 

The district ceded to Rollo developed into what in later 
times was known as the duchy of Normandy. Its Scandi- 
Duchy of navian settlers, henceforth called Normans, 1 soon 
Normandy became French in language and culture. It was 
amazing to see how quickly the descendants of wild sea-rovers 
put off their heathen ways and made their new home a Christian 
land, noted for its churches, monasteries, and schools. 

The Normans helped to found the medieval French monarchy. 

During the tenth century the old Carolingian line of rulers, 

which had already died out in Germany and Italy, 2 
The Nor- . J , . _ * ■, 

mans and came also to an end in France. A new dynasty 

Hugh Capet, was then founded by a nobleman named Hugh 
987 A.D. 

Capet, who secured the aid of the powerful Norman 
dukes in his efforts to gain the throne. The accession of Hugh 
Capet took place in 987 a.d. His descendants reigned over 
France for almost exactly eight hundred years. 


1 “Norman” is a softened form of “Northman.’ 


See pages 315, 317. 


Conquest of England by the Danes 371 

133. Conquest of England by the Danes; Alfred 
the Great 

Even before Egbert of Wessex succeeded in uniting all the 
Anglo-Saxon kingdom, 1 bands of Vikings, chiefly from Den¬ 
mark, had made occasional forays on the English England 
coast. Egbert kept the Danes at bay, but after overrun by 
his death the real invasion of England began. the Danes 
The Danes came over in large numbers, made permanent settle¬ 
ments, and soon controlled all England north of the Thames. 

Wessex before long experienced the full force of the Danish 
attack. The country at this time was ruled by Alfred, the 
grandson of Egbert. Alfred mounted the throne ^ed 
in 871 a.d., when he was only about twenty-three and the 
years old. In spite of his youth, he showed him¬ 
self the right sort of leader for the hard-pressed West Saxons. 
After much fighting Alfred gained a signal victory ov.er the 
enemy, who were now glad to make peace and accept the 
religion of their conquerors. The English and Danes finally 
agreed to a treaty dividing the country between them. The 
eastern part of England, where the invaders were firmly estab¬ 
lished, came to be called the Danelaw, because here the Danish, 
and not the Anglo-Saxon, law prevailed. 

It was a well-nigh ruined country which Alfred had now to 
rule over and build up again. His work of restoration invites 
comparison with that of Charlemagne. Alfred’s civilizing 
first care was to organize a fighting force always activities of 
ready at his call to repel invasion. He also created re 
an efficient fleet, which patrolled the coast and engaged the 
Vikings on their own element. He had the laws of the Anglo- 
Saxons collected and reduced to writing, taking pains at the 
same time to see that justice was done between man and man. 
He did much to rebuild the ruined churches and monasteries. 
Alfred labored with especial diligence to revive education 
among the English folk. His court at Winchester became 
a literary center where learned men wrote and taught. The 


1 See page 320. 



372 


The Northmen and the Normans 


king himself mastered Latin, in order that he might trans¬ 
late Latin books into the English tongue. So great were 
Alfred’s services in this direction that 
he has been called “the father of 
English prose.” 

About seventy-five years after 
Alfred’s death the Danes renewed 
From Alfred their invasions. It then 
to the Nor- became necessary to buy 
quest, 901- them off with an annual 
1066 a.d. tribute called the Dane- 
geld. Early in the eleventh century 
Canute, the son of a Danish king, 
succeeded in establishing himself on 
the English throne (1016-1035 a.d.). 
His dynasty did not last long, how¬ 
ever, and at length the old West- 
Saxon line was restored in the person 
of Edward the Confessor (or “the 
Saint”). Edward had spent most of 
his early life in Normandy, and on 
coming to England brought with him a large following of Nor¬ 
mans, whom he placed in high positions. During his reign 
(1042-1066 a.d.) Norman nobles and churchmen gained a foot*- 
hold in England, thus preparing the way for the Norman con¬ 
quest of the country. 



Alfred’s Jewel 

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 
A jewel of blue enamel inclosed 
in a setting of gold, with the 
words around it “Alfred had me 
wrought.” Found at Athelney in 
the seventeenth century. 


134. Norman Conquest of England; William 
the Conqueror 

Edward the Confessor having left no direct heirs, the choice 
of his successor fell lawfully upon the Witenagemot, 1 as the 
Harold and national assembly of noblemen and higher clergy 
William was called. This body chose as king, Harold, 

earl of Wessex, the leading man in England. Harold’s right 
to the succession was disputed by William, duke of Normandy, 

Meeting of wise men.” The word gemot or moot was used for any kind of 
formal meeting. 




Norman Conquest of England 


373 



ALFRED’S 

ENGLAND 


Scale of English Miles 


HOLY ISLE 
j/LINDISFARNE 


EXPLANATION 


English V///A 
Danes 

Welsh - - : 


°R. Humber 


ANGLESEA 1 


'Keiccster^ 


-C&toU 


Ashington) 


loiclrester 


Vtames. 


VEaingtc 
T'edniore' 

yp%/K tlielnev' 


Bristol Channel 


Canterbury 


oreliestei^ 


ISLE OF 
WIGHT 


Longitude West 2 from Greenwich 





















































374 


The Northmen and the Normans 


who declared that the crown had been promised to him by his 
cousin, the Confessor. William also asserted that Harold had 
once sworn a solemn oath, over a chest of sacred relics, to sup¬ 
port his claim to the throne on Edward’s death. When word 
came of Harold’s election, William wrathfully denounced him 
as a usurper and invaded England with a strong army. 



A S.CENE FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY 


Museum of Bayeux, Normandy 

The Bayeux Tapestry, which almost certainly belongs to the time of the Norman Conquest, 
is a strip of coarse linen cloth, about 230 feet long by 20 inches wide, embroidered in worsted 
thread of eight different colors. There are seventy-two scenes picturing various events in 
the history of the Norman Conquest. The illustration given above represents an attack of 
Norman cavalry on the English shield wall at the battle of Hastings. 

William at first met no resistance. Harold was far away in 
the north fighting against the Norwegians, who had seized the 
Battle of opportunity to make another descent on the Eng- 

Hastings, lish coast. Harold defeated them decisively and 

then hurried southward to face his new foe. The 
two armies met near Hastings on the road to London. All day 
they fought. The stout English infantry, behind their wall 
of shields, threw back one charge after another of the Norman 
knights. Again and again the duke rallied his men and led 
them where the foe was thickest. A cry arose that he was 
slain. “I live,” shouted William, tearing off his helmet that 
all might see his face, “and by God’s help will conquer yet.” 
At last, with the approach of evening, Harold was killed by an 
arrow; his household guard died about him; and the rest of 
the English took to flight. William pitched his camp on the 















William the Conqueror raised the great central keep, or White Tower. The inner wall, with its thirteen turrets, was added by William Rufus, the Conqueror’s 
son; the moat, by Richard I, and the outer wall by Henry III. The tower has been a fortress, a palace, and a prison; it now serves as a government arsenal 
and historical museum. 


H 

o 

§ 

w 

o 

Hrj 

o 

2 

9 

o 

2 



375 
















































































































































































































































376 


The Northmen and the Normans 


field of victory, and “sat down to eat and drink among the 
dead.” 

The battle of Hastings settled the fate of England. Fol¬ 
lowing up his victory with relentless energy, William pressed 
William on t° London. That city, now practically the 
becomes king capital of the country, opened its gates to him. 
The Witenagemot, meeting in London, offered the throne to 
William. On Christmas Day, 1066 a.d., in Westminster Abbey 
the duke of Normandy was crowned king of England. 

The coming of the Normans to England formed the third 
and last installment of the Teutonic invasion. Norman mer¬ 
chants and artisans followed Norman soldiers 
mentinthe an d settled particularly in the southern and east- 

English ern parts of the island. They seem to have emi¬ 

grated in considerable numbers and doubtless 
added an important element to the English population. The 
Normans thus completed the work of the Anglo-Saxons and 
Danes in making England largely a Teutonic country. 

It must be remembered, however, that the Normans in 
Normandy had received a considerable intermixture of French 
blood and had learned to speak a form of the French 
ment in the" language (Norman-French). In England Norman- 
English French naturally was used by the upper and rul- 

ing classes — by the court, the nobility, and the 
clergy. The English held fast to their own homely language, 
but could not fail to pick up many French expressions, as they 
mingled with their conquerors in churches, markets, and other 
places of public resort. It took about three hundred years for 
French words and phrases to soak thoroughly into their speech. 
The result was a very large addition to the vocabulary of English. 

Until the Norman Conquest England, because of its insular 
position, had remained out of touch with Continental Europe. 
Union of William the Conqueror and his immediate suc- 
Engiand and cessors were, however, not only rulers of England, 
Normandy but also dukes of Normandy and subjects of the 
French kings. The union of England with Normandy conse¬ 
quently brought it at once into the full current of European 


Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily 377 


affairs. The country became for a time almost a part of France 
and profited by the more advanced civilization which had arisen 
on French soil. 

135. Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily 

The unsettled condition of Italy gave the Normans an op¬ 
portunity for interference in the affairs of that country. The 
founding of Norman power there was largely the Con q uests 
work of a noble named Robert Guiscard (“the of Robert 
Crafty”), a man almost as celebrated as William Guiscard 
the Conqueror. He had set out from his home in Normandy 
with only a single follower, but his valor and shrewdness soon 



Norman Possessions in Italy and Sicily 

brought him to the front. Robert united the scattered bands 
of Normans in Italy, who were fighting for pay or plunder, 
and wrested from the Roman Empire in the East its last ter¬ 
ritories in the peninsula. Most of southern Italy now passed 
under Norman rule. 

Robert’s brother, Roger, crossed the strait of Messina and 
began the subjugation of Sicily, then a Moslem Roger 
possession. Its recovery from the hands of “in- Guiscard’s 
fidels” was considered by the Normans a work conquests 
both pleasing to God and profitable to themselves. By the 


















378 


The Northmen and the Normans 


close of the eleventh century they had finally established their 
rule in the island. 


The conquests of the Normans in southern Italy and Sicily 
into a single state, which came to be known as 
the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Normans 
kept it for only about one hundred and fifty years, 
but under other rulers it lasted until the middle 
of the nineteenth century, when the present kingdom of Italy 
came into existence. 


were united 

Kingdom 
of the 

Two Sicilies 


The kingdom of the Two Sicilies was well-governed, rich, 
Norman an d strong. Art and learning flourished in the 
cities of Naples, Salerno, and Palermo. Southern 
Italy and Sicily under the Normans became a 
meeting-point of Byzantine and Arabic civilization. 


culture in 
the South 


Studies 

i. What events are associated with the following dates: 988 a.d. ; 862 a.d.; 
1066 a.d. ; 1000 a.d. ; and 987 a.d.? 2. What was the origin of the geographical 

names Russia, Greenland, Finland, and Normandy? 3. Mention some of the 
striking physical contrasts between the Arabian and Scandinavian peninsulas. 
4. Why has the Baltic Sea been called a “secondary Mediterranean”? . 5. How 
does it happen that the Gulf of Finland is often frozen over in winter, while even 
the northernmost of the Norse fiords remain open ? 6. Why is an acquaintance with 
Scandinavian mythology, literature, and history especially desirable for English- 
speaking peoples? 7. What is meant by the “berserker’s rage” ? 8. What names 
of our week days are derived from the names of Scandinavian deities? 9. Compare 
the Arab and Scandinavian conceptions of the future state of departed warriors. 
10. What is meant by “sea-power”? What people possessed it during the ninth 
and tenth centuries? n. Compare the invasions of the Northmeii with those of 
the Germans as to (a) causes, ( b) area covered, and (c) results. 12. What was the 
significance of the fact that the Northmen were not Christians at the time when they 
began their expeditions? 13. Show how the voyages of the Northmen vastly in¬ 
creased geographical knowledge. 14. Show that the Russian people have received 
from Constantinople their writing, religion, and art. 15. Mention three conquests 
of England by foreign peoples before 1066 a.d. Give for each conquest the results 
and the approximate date. 16. On the map, page 373, trace the boundary line be¬ 
tween Alfred’s possessions and those of the Danes. 17. Compare Alfred and Charle¬ 
magne as civilizing kings. 18. Compare Alfred’s cession of the Danelaw with the 
cession of Normandy to Rollo. 19. Why is Hastings included among “decisive” 
battles? 20. “We English are not ourselves but somebody else.” Comment on 
this statement. 21. What is meant by the “Norman graft upon the sturdy Saxon 
tree ” ? 22. What settlements of the Northmen most influenced European history ? 


CHAPTER XVII 


FEUDALISM 
136. Rise of Feudalism 

The ninth century in western Europe was a period of vio¬ 
lence, disorder, and even anarchy. Charlemagne for a time 
had arrested the disintegration of society which 

A ddxk 3.R0 

resulted from the invasions of the Germans, and 
had united their warring tribes under something like a central¬ 
ized government. After his death the Carolingian Empire, 
attacked by the Northmen and other invaders and weakened 
by civil conflicts, broke up into separate kingdoms. 

Charlemagne’s successors in France, Germany, and Italy 
possessed little real authority. They reigned, but did not rule. 
Under the conditions of the age, it was impossible Decline of 
for a king to govern with a strong hand. The the royal 
absence of good roads or of other easy means of authont y 
communication made it difficult for him to move troops quickly 
from one district to another, in order to quell revolts. Even 
had good roads existed, the lack of ready money would have 
prevented him from maintaining a strong army devoted to his 
interests. Moreover, the king’s subjects, as yet not welded 
into a nation, felt toward him no Sentiments of loyalty and 
affection. They cared far less for their king, of whom they 
knew little, than for their own local lords who dwelt near them. 

The decline of the royal authority, from the ninth century 
onward, meant that the chief functions of government would 
be more and more performed by the nobles, who increased 
were the great landowners of the kingdom. Under power of the 
Charlemagne these men had been the king s offi¬ 
cials, appointed by him and holding office at his pleasure. 
Under his successors they tended to become almost independent 

379 


380 


Feudalism 


princes. European society thus entered upon the stage of 
feudalism. 1 

Feudalism in medieval Europe was not a unique develop¬ 
ment. Parallels to it may be found in other parts of the world. 
Parallels to Whenever the state becomes incapable of protect- 

European ing life and property, powerful men in each locality 
feudalism . , l , , . , , 

will themselves undertake this duty; they will 

assume the burden of their own defense and of those weaker 

men who seek their aid. Such was the situation in ancient 

Egypt for several hundred years, in medieval Persia, and in 

modern Japan until about two generations ago. 

European feudalism arose and flourished in the countries 
which had formed the Carolingian Empire, that is, in France, 
Extent of Germany, and northern Italy. It also spread to 

European Bohemia, Hungary, and the Christian states of 

feudalism Spain. The Normans transplanted it into Eng¬ 
land, southern Italy, and Sicily. The crusaders introduced it 
into the kingdoms which they founded in the East. The Scandi¬ 
navian countries still later became acquainted with feudalism. 


137. Feudalism as a Form of Local Government 

The basis of feudal society was usually the landed estate. 
Here lived the feudal noble, surrounded by dependents over 
Feudal whom he exercised the rights of a petty sovereign, 

sovereignty He cou ld tax them; he could require them to give 

him military assistance; he could try them in his courts. A 
great noble, the possessor of many estates, even enjoyed the 
privilege of declaring war, making treaties, and coining money. 
How, it will be asked, did these rights and privileges arise? 

Owing to the decay of commerce and industry, land had be¬ 
come practically the only form of wealth in the early Middle 
Feudal A g es - The king, who was regarded as the abso- 

tenure of lute owner of the soil, would pay his officials for 

their services by giving them the use of a certain 
amount of land. An official who had received large estates 

1 The word comes from the medieval Latin feudum, from which are derived the 
French fief and the English fee. 


Feudalism as a Form of Local Government 381 


would parcel them out among his followers, in return for their 
support. Sometimes an unscrupulous noble might seize the 
lands of his neighbors and compel them to become his tenants. 
Sometimes, too, those who owned land in their own right might 
surrender the title to it in favor of a noble, who then became 
their protector. 

An estate in land which a person held of a superior lord, on 
condition of performing some “honorable” service, was called 
a fief. At first the tenant received the fief only 
for a specified term of years or for his lifetime; 
but in the end it became inheritable. On the death of the 
tenant his eldest son succeeded him in possession. This right 
of the first-born son to the whole of the father’s estate was 
known as primogeniture. 1 If a man had no legal heir, the fief 
went back to its lord. 

The tie which bound the tenant who accepted a fief to the 
lord who granted it was called vassalage. Every holder of 
land was in theory, though not always in fact, the Vassalage 
vassal of some lord. At the apex of the feudal 
pyramid stood the king, the supreme landlord, who was sup¬ 
posed to hold his land from God; below the king stood the 
greater lords (dukes, marquises, counts, and barons), with large 
estates; and below them stood the lesser lords, or knights, 
whose possessions were considered to be too small for further 


subdivision. 

The vassal owed various services to the lord. In time of 
war he did garrison duty at the lord’s castle and Personal 
joined him in military expeditions. In time of services of 
peace the vassal attended the lord on ceremonial the vassal 
occasions, gave him the benefit of his advice, when required, 
and helped him as a judge in trying cases. 

The vassal was also expected to make money payments. 
When a new heir succeeded to the fief, the lord received from 
him a sum usually equivalent to one year’s revenue of the estate. 


1 The practice of primogeniture has now been abolished by the laws of the various 
European countries and is not recognized in the United States. It still prevails, 
however, in England. 


Feudalism 


382 


Homage 


This payment was called a “relief.” Again, if a man sold his 
fief, the lord demanded another large sum from the purchaser, 
The vassal’s ^ e ^ ore giving ^is consent to the transaction. Vas- 

money sals had also to raise money for the lord’s ransom, 

payments j n case was made prisoner of war, to meet the 

expenses connected with the knighting of his eldest son, and 
to provide a dowry for his eldest daughter. Such exceptional 
payments went by the name of “aids.” 

The vassal, in return for his services and payments, looked to 
the lord for the protection of life and property. The lord agreed 
The lord’s to secure him in the enjoyment of his fief, to guard 

duty to the him against his enemies, and to see that in all 

vassal • 

matters he received just treatment. 

The ceremony of homage 1 symbolized the whole feudal rela¬ 
tionship. One who proposed to become a vassal and hold a 
fief came into the lord’s presence, bareheaded 
and unarmed, knelt down, placed his hands be¬ 
tween those of the lord and promised henceforth to become his 
“man.” The lord then kissed him and raised him to his feet. 
After the ceremony the vassal placed his hand upon the Bible 
or upon sacred relics and swore to remain faithful to his lord. 
This was the oath of “fealty.” The lord then gave the vassal 
some object — a stick, a clod of earth, a lance, or a glove — 
in token of the fief with the possession of which he was now 
“invested.” 

It is clear that the feudal method of land tenure, coupled 
with the custom of vassalage, made in some degree for security 
and order. Each noble was attached to the lord 
government a above him by the bond of personal service and the 
substitute for oath of fidelity. To his vassals beneath him he 
was at once protector, benefactor, and friend. 
Feudal obligations, however, were far less strictly observed in 
practice than in theory. Both lords and vassals often broke 
their engagements, when it seemed profitable to do so. They 
had many quarrels and indulged in constant warfare. But 
feudalism, despite its defects, was better than anarchy. The 

1 Latin homo, “man.” 


Feudal Justice 383 

feudal lords drove back the pirates and hanged the brigands 
and enforced the laws, as no feeble king could do. They pro¬ 
vided a rude form of local government for a rude society. 

138. Feudal Justice 

Feudalism was also a form of local justice. Knights, barons, 
counts, and dukes had their separate courts, and the king had 
his court above all. Cases arising on the lord’s judicial rights 
estate were tried before him and the vassals whom of nobles 
he called to his assistance in giving justice. Since most wrongs 
could be atoned for by the payment of a fine, the conduct of 
justice on a large fief produced a considerable income. The 
nobles, accordingly, regarded their judicial rights as a valuable 
property, which they were loath to surrender to the state. 

The law followed in a feudal court was largely based on old 
Teutonic customs. The court did not act in the public in¬ 
terest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff judicial ad- 
requested its service. Moreover, until the case ministration 
had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the 
same treatment. Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff 
who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, 
had he been found guilty, would have undergone. 

The feudal court did not require the accuser to prove his case 
by calling witnesses and having them give testimony. The 
burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to Thg oatfa 
clear himself of the charge, if he could do so. In 
one form of trial it was enough for him to declare his innocence 
under oath, and then to bring in several “oath-helpers,” some¬ 
times relatives, but more often neighbors, who swore that they 
believed him to be telling the truth. The number of these 
“ oath-helpers ” varied according to the seriousness of the crime 
and the rank of the accused. This method was hardly as un¬ 
satisfactory as it seems to be, for a person of evil reputation 
might not be able to secure the required number of friends who 
would commit perjury on his behalf. To take an oath was a. 
very solemn proceeding; it was an appeal to God, by which a 
man called down on himself divine punishment if he swore falsely. 


384 


Feudalism 


Ordeals 


The consequences of a false oath were not apparent at once. 
Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to God, the 

results of which could 
be 


immediately ob¬ 
served. A 
common 
form of ordeal was 
by fire. The accused 
walked barefoot over 
live brands, or stuck 
his hand into a flame, 
or carried a piece of 
red-hot iron for a cer¬ 
tain distance. In the 
ordeal by hot water 
he plunged his arm 
into boiling water. A 
man established his in¬ 
nocence through one 
of these tests if the 
wound healed properly 
after three days. The 
ordeal by cold water 
rested on the belief that pure water would reject the criminal. 
Hence the accused was thrown bound into a stream: if he 
floated he was guilty; if he sank he was innocent and had to 
be rescued. Ordeals were doubtless useful in many instances. 
The real culprit would often prefer to confess, rather than incur 
the anger of God by submitting to the test. 

A form of trial which especially appealed to the warlike nobles 
was the judicial duel. 1 The accuser and the accused fought 
The judicial 



Trial by Combat 

From a manuscript of the fifteenth century. 


with each other; and the conqueror won the case, 
duel God, it was believed, would give victory to the 

innocent party, because he had right on his side. When one 
of the adversaries could not fight, he secured a champion to 

1 Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe (chapter xliii), contains an account of a judicial 
duel. 




































Feudal Warfare 


385 


take his place. The judicial duel finally went out of use in 
the law courts, but it still continued to be employed privately, 
as a means of settling disputes which involved a man’s honor. 
The practice of dueling has now nearly died out in civilized 
communities. 

Oaths, ordeals, and duels formed an inheritance from Teu¬ 
tonic antiquity. 1 They offered a sharp contrast to Roman 
law, which acted in the public interest, balanced Feudal and 
evidence, and sought only to get at the truth. Roman law 
After the middle of the twelfth century the revival of the study 
of Rqman law, as embodied in Justinian’s code, 2 led gradually 
to the abandonment of most forms of appeal to the judgment 
of God. The kings at the same time grew powerful enough to 
take into their own hands the administration of justice. 

139. Feudal Warfare 

Feudalism, once more, was a form of local defense. The 
knight must guard his small estate, the baron his barony, the 
count his county, and the duke his duchy. The j^^ ary 
vassal had to follow his lord to war, either alone obligations of 
or with a certafrf number of men, according to avass 
the size of the fief. This assistance was limited. A vassal 
served only for a definite period (varying from one month 
to three months in the year), and then only within a reason¬ 
able distance from the lands for which he did homage. These 
restrictions made it difficult to conduct a long campaign, or one 
far removed from the vassal’s fief, unless mercenary soldiers 
were employed. 

The feudal army, as a rule, consisted entirely of cavalry. 
Such swiftly moving assailants as the Northmen and the Mag¬ 
yars could best be dealt with by mounted men, The f eu d. a i 
who could bring them to bay, compel them to army 
fight, and overwhelm them by the shock of the charge. Mailed 
horsemen thus came to dominate European battlefields. 

The armor used in the Middle Ages was gradually perfected, 
until at length the knight became a living fortress. He wore 
1 See page 326. 2 See page 331. 


3 86 


Feudalism 



Mounted Knight 

Seal of Robert Fitzwalter, showing a mounted knight 
in complete mail armor; date about 1265 a.d. 


at first a cloth or leather tunic, covered with iron rings or scales, 
and an iron cap with nose guard. He later adopted chain 

mail, with a hood of the 
same material for the 
Arms and head. Dur- 

armor ing the four¬ 

teenth century the knight 
began to wear heavy plate 
armor, weighing fifty 
pounds or more, and a 
helmet with a visor which 
could be raised or lowered. 
Thus completely incased 
in metal, provided with 
shield, lance, straight 
sword or battle-ax, and 
mounted on a powerful 
horse, the knight could 
ride down almost any 
number of poorly armed peasants. It was not until the de¬ 
velopment of missile weapons — the longbow, and later the 
musket — that the foot soldier resumed his importance in war¬ 
fare. The feudal age by this time was drawing to a close. 

The nobles regarded the right of waging war on one another 
as their most cherished privilege. Fighting became almost a 
Prevalence form of business enterprise, which enriched the 
of private lords and their retainers through the sack of castles, 
the plunder of villages, and the ransom of prisoners. 
Every hill became a stronghold and every plain a battlefield. 
Such neighborhood warfare, though rarely very bloody, spread 
havoc throughout the land. 

The Church lifted a protesting voice against this evil. It 
proclaimed a “Peace of God” and forbade attacks on all de- 
The Peace fenseless people, including priests, monks, pilgrims, 
and Truce merchants, peasants, and women. It was found 
impossible to prevent the feudal lords from war¬ 
ring with each other, even though they were threatened with the 




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The Castle and Life of the Nobles 


387 


eternal torments of Hell; and so the Church tried to restrict 
what it could not altogether abolish. A “Truce of God” was 
established. All men were to cease fighting from Wednesday 
evening to Monday morning of each week, during Lent, and on 
various holy days. The truce would have given Christendom 
peace for about two hundred and forty days each year; but it 
seems never to have been strictly observed except in limited areas. 

The kings naturally sought to put an end to the constant 
fighting between their subjects. The Norman rulers of Nor¬ 
mandy, England, and the Two Sicilies restrained Abolition 
their turbulent nobles with a strong hand. Peace of private 
came later in most parts of the Continent; in warfare 
Germany, “fist right” (the rule of the strongest) prevailed until 
the end of the fifteenth century. The abolition of private war 
was the first step in Europe toward universal peace. The 
second step — the abolition of public war between nations — 
is yet to be taken. 

140 . The Castle and Life of the Nobles 

The outward mark of feudalism was the castle, 1 where the 
lord resided and from which he ruled his fief. The castle in its 
earliest form was simply a wooden blockhouse Develop _ 
placed on a mound and surrounded by a stockade, ment of the 
The nobles later began to build in stone, which castle 
would better resist fire and the assaults of besiegers. A stone 
castle consisted at first of a single tower, square or round, 
with thick walls, few windows, and often with only one room to 
each story. As engineering skill increased, several towers were 
built and were then connected by outer and inner walls. The 
castle thus became a group of fortifications, which might cover 
a wide area. 

Defense formed the primary purpose of the castle. Until 
the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, the only siege 
engines employed were those known in ancient j^e cas tie 
times. They included machines for hurling heavy a * a fortress 
stones and iron bolts, battering rams, and movable towers, 

1 The French form of the word is chateau. 


Feudalism 


388 

from which the besiegers crossed over to the walls. Such 
engines could best be used on firm, level ground. Consequently 
a castle would often be erected on a high cliff or hill, or on an 



A. High Angle Tower 'KJEntrance Gate S. Gate Trom Escarpment 

B. B Smaller Side Tower G.Counterscarpe T.T -Flanking Towers 

C. C. D.D. Comer To wer Yl.Keep V Outer Towers, 

E. OuterEnciepteprlowerCourtfi. Escarpment ^..Connecting Wall 

F. Well O. Postern Tower Y Stockade m River 

G. n,But /dings in Lower Court P. Postern Gate Z.Z GreatDiiches 

I. Moat RR.Parapet Walls 

Plan of Chateau Gaillard 


island, or in the center of a swamp. A castle without such nat¬ 
ural defenses would be surrounded by a deep ditch (the moat), 
usually filled with water. If besiegers could not batter down or 
undermine the walls, they adopted the slower method of a 
blockade and tried to starve the garrison into surrendering. 

A visitor to a medieval castle crossed the drawbridge over 
the moat and approached the narrow doorway, which was pro¬ 
tected by a tower on each side. If he was admitted, the iron 






Chateau Gaillard (Restored) 


The finest of all medieval castles. Located on a high hill overlooking the Seine, about 
twenty miles from Rouen. Built by Richard the Lion-hearted within a twelvemonth 
(1197-1198 a.d.) and by him called “ Saucy Castle.” It was captured a few years later 
by the French king, Philip Augustus, and was dismantled early in the seventeenth century. 
The castle consisted of three distinct series of fortifications, besides the keep, which in 
t.hiq case was merely a strong tower. 















Feudalism 


39° 

grating (portcullis) rose slowly on its creaking pulleys, the 
heavy, wooden doors swung open, and he found himself in the 
A castle courtyard commanded by the great central tower 

described (keep), where the lord and his family lived, es¬ 
pecially in time of war. At the summit of the keep rose a plat¬ 
form whence the sentinel surveyed the country far and wide; 
below, two stories underground, lay the prison, dark, damp, 
and dirty. As the visitor walked about the courtyard, he came 
upon the hall, used as the lord’s residence in time of peace, the 
armory, the chapel, the kitchens, and the stables. A spacious 

castle might contain all 
the buildings necessary for 
the support of the lord’s 
servants and soldiers. 

Life within the castle 
was very dull. There were 

Amusements some g ames > 
of the nobles especially 

chess, which the nobles 
learned from the Moslems. 
Banqueting, however, 
formed the chief indoor 
amusement. The lord and 
his retainers sat down to 
a gluttonous feast and, as they ate and drank, watched the 
pranks of a professional jester or listened to the songs and music 
of minstrels or, it may be, heard with wonder the tales of far- 
off countries brought by some returning traveler. Outside 
castle walls a common sport was hunting in the forests and game 
preserves attached to every estate. Deer, bears, and wild 
boars were hunted with hounds; for smaller animals trained 
hawks, or falcons, were employed. 

141. Knighthood and Chivalry 

The prevalence of warfare in feudal times made the use of 
arms a profession requiring special training. A nobleman’s 
son served for a number of years, first as a page, then as a 



King and Jester 

From a manuscript of the early fifteenth century. 





Knighthood and Chivalry 391 

squire, in his father’s castle or in that of some other lord. He 
learned to manage a horse, to climb a scaling ladder, to wield 
sword, battle-ax, and lance. He also waited on Apprentice- 
the lord’s table, assisted him at his toilet, followed ship of the 
him in the chase, and attended him in battle. knight 
This apprenticeship usually lasted from five to seven years. 

When the young noble became of age, he might be made a 
knight. The ceremony of conferring knighthood was often 
most elaborate. The candidate fasted, took a conferring of 
bath — the symbol of purification — and passed knighthood 
the eve of his admission in prayer. Next morning he confessed 



From a manuscript of the thirteenth century in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. • 

his sins, went to mass, and listened to a sermon on the duties 
of knighthood. This ended, his father, or the noble who had 
brought him up, girded him with a sword and gave him the 
“accolade,” that is, a blow on the neck or shoulder, at the same 
time saying, “Be thou a good knight.” The youth, clad in 
shining armor and wearing golden spurs, then mounted his 
horse and exhibited his skill in warlike exercises. If a squire 
for valorous conduct received knighthood on the battlefield, 
the accolade by stroke of the sword formed the only ceremony. 

As manners softened and Christian teachings began to affect 
feudal society, knighthood developed into chivalry. The 
Church, which opposed the warlike excesses of feudalism, took 




Feudalism 


39 2 

the knight under her wing and bade him be always a true soldier 
of Christ. The “good knight” was he who respected his sworn 
Chivalry word, who never took an unfair advantage of 
another, who defended widows and orphans against 
their oppressors, and who sought to make justice and right pre¬ 
vail in the world. Chivalry thus marked the union of pagan and 
Christian virtues, of Christianity and militarism. 1 

The all-absorbing passion for fighting led to the invention of 
mimic warfare in the shape of jousts and tournaments. 2 These 
jousts and exercises formed the medieval equivalent of the 
tournaments Greek athletic games and the Roman gladiatorial 
shows. The joust was a contest between two knights; the tour¬ 
nament, between two bands of knights. The contests took 



From a French manuscript of the early fourteenth century. Shows knights jousting 
with cronels on their lances. 

place in a railed-off space, called the “lists,” about which the 
spectators gathered. Each knight wore upon his helmet the 
scarf or color of his lady and fought with her eyes upon him. 
Victory went to the one who unhorsed his opponent or broke 
in the proper manner the greatest number of lances. The 
beaten knight forfeited horse and armor and had to pay a ran¬ 
som to the conqueror. Sometimes he lost his life, especially 
when the participants fought with real weapons and not with 
blunted lances and pointless swords. The Church now and then 
tried to stop these performances, but they remained universally 
popular until the close of the Middle Ages. 

1 See Tennyson’s poem, Sir Galahad, for a presentation of the ideal knight. 

2 Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe (chapter xii), contains a description of a 
tournament. 



393 


Feudalism as a Form of Local Industry 

Chivalry arose with feudalism, formed, in fact, the religion of 
feudalism, and passed away only when the changed conditions 
of society made feudalism an anachronism. While influence of 
chivalry lasted, it produced some improvement in chivalf y 
manners, particularly by insisting on the notion of personal honor 
and by fostering greater regard for women (though only for those 
of the upper class). Our modern notion of the conduct befitting 
a “gentleman” goes back to the old chivalric code. Chivalry 
expressed, however, simply the sentiments of the warlike nobles. 
It was an aristocratic ideal. The knight despised and did his 
best to keep in subjection the toiling peasantry, upon whose 
backs rested the real burden of feudal society. 


The manor 


142. Feudalism as a Form of Local Industry 

An estate in land, when owned by a lord and occupied by 
dependent tenants, was called a manor. 1 It naturally varied in 
size, according to the wealth of its lord. In Eng¬ 
land perhaps six hundred acres represented the ex¬ 
tent of an average estate. Every noble had at least one manor; 
great nobles might have several manors, usually scattered 
throughout the country; and even the king depended on his many 
manors for the food supply of the court. England, during the 
period following the Norman Conquest, contained more than 
nine thousand of these manorial estates. 

The lord reserved for his own use a part of the arable land of 
the manor. This was his “demesne,” or domain. The rest 
of the land he allotted to the peasants who were 
his tenants. They cultivated their holdings in cu iti va tion of 
common, according to the “open-field” system, thearable 
A farmer, instead of having his land in one compact 
mass, had it split up into a large number of small strips (usually 
about half an acre each) scattered over the manor, and separated, 
not by fences or hedges, but by banks of unplowed turf. The 
appearance of a manor, when under cultivation, has been likened 
to a vast checkerboard or a patchwork quilt. The reason for 
the intermixture of strips seems to have been to make sure that 
1 From the Old French manoir, “mansion” (Latin manere, “to dwell”). 


Feudalism 


394 

each farmer had a portion both of the good land and of the bad. 
It is obvious that this arrangement compelled all the peasants 
to labor according to a common plan. A man had to sow the 
same kinds of crops as his neighbors, and to till and reap them 
at the same time. Agriculture, under such circumstances, could 
not fail to be unprogressive. 

Farmers did not know how to enrich the soil by the use of fer¬ 
tilizers and by a proper rotation of crops. Consequently, they 
Farming divided all the arable land into three parts, one 
methods of which was sown with wheat or rye, and another 
with oats or barley, while the third was allowed to lie “ fallow ” 
(uncultivated), that it might recover its fertility. Eight or 
nine bushels of grain represented the average yield of an acre. - 
Farm animals were small, for scientific breeding had not yet 
begun. Farm implements were few and clumsy. It took five 
men a day to reap and bind the harvest of two acres. 

Each peasant had certain rights over the non-arable land of 
the manor. He could cut a limited amount of hay from the 
meadow. He could turn so many farm animals — 

Common use 

of the non- cattle, geese, swme — on the waste. He also- 
arable land enjoyed the privilege of taking so much wood from 
the forest for fuel and building purposes. A peasant’s holding, 
which also included a house in the village, thus formed a com¬ 
plete outfit. 

143. The Village and Life of the Peasants 


The peasants on a manor lived close together in one or more 
villages. Their small, thatch-roofed, and one-roomed houses 
A village de- would be grouped about an open space (the 
scribed “green”), or on both sides of a single, narrow 

street. The only important buildings were the parish church, 
the parsonage, a mill, if a stream ran through the manor, and 
possibly a blacksmith’s shop. The population of one of these 
villages often did not exceed one hundred souls. 

A village in the Middle Ages had a regular body of officials. 
First came the headman, or reeve, who represented the peasants 
in their dealings with the lord of the manor. Next came the 



Farm Work in the Fourteenth Century 

Plowing. Harrowing. Cutting Weeds. Reaping. 


395 
















































Feudalism 


396 

constable, or beadle, whose duty it was to carry messages round 
the village, summon the inhabitants to meetings, and enforce 
Village the orders of the reeve. Then there was the pound- 

officials keeper, who seized straying animals, the watch¬ 

man, who guarded the flocks at night, and the village carpenter, 
blacksmith, and miller. These officials, in return for their 
services, received an allowance of land, which the villagers culti¬ 
vated for them. 

The most striking feature of a medieval village was its self- 
sufficiency. The inhabitants tried to produce at home every- 
A village as thing the y required, in order to avoid the 
self-sufficing uncertainty and expense of trade. The land gave 
them their food; the forest provided them with wood for houses 
and furniture. They made their own clothes of flax, wool, and 
leather. Their meal and flour were ground at the village mill, 
and their farm implements were manufactured at the village 
smithy. The chief articles which needed to be brought from 
some distant market were salt, used to salt down farm animals 
killed in autumn, iron for various tools, and millstones. Cattle, 
horses, and surplus grain also formed common objects of ex¬ 
change between manors. 

Life in a medieval village was rude and rough. The peasants 
labored from sunrise to sunset, ate coarse fare, lived in huts, 
Hard lot of and suffered from frequent pestilences. They 
the peasantry were often the helpless prey of the feudal nobles. 
If their lord happened to be a quarrelsome man, given to fight¬ 
ing with his neighbors, they might see their lands ravaged, their 
cattle driven off, their village burned, and might themselves 
be slain. Even under peaceful conditions the narrow, shut-in 
life of the manor could not be otherwise than degrading. 

Yet there is another side to the picture. If the peasants had 
a just and generous lord, they probably led a fairly comfortable 
Alleviations existence. They usually had an abundance of 
of the food, with wine or cider to drink. They shared a 

peasant's lot common lif e i n the work of the fields, in the sports 
of the village green, and in the services of the parish church. 
They enjoyed many holidays; it has been estimated that, 


The Village and Life of the Peasants 


397 





The ('Plan of a fhewing* 

zViyater's holding in the (mriman jvd&i/Z 


oV 


Plan of a Manor 


















Feudalism 


398 

besides Sundays, about eight weeks in every year were free 
from work. Festivities at Christmas, Easter, and May Day, at 
the end of plowing and the completion of harvest, relieved the 
monotony of the daily round of labor. 

144. Serfdom 

A medieval village usually contained several classes of labor¬ 
ers. There might be a number of freemen, who paid a fixed 
rent, either in money or produce, for 
the use of their land. A few slaves might 

„ also be found in the lord’s 

Freemen, 

slaves, and household or at work on 
serfs his demesne. Most of 

the peasants, however, were serfs. 

Serfdom represented a stage between 
slavery and freedom. A slave belonged 
Nature of t0 his master; he was 
serfdom bought and sold like other 

chattels. A serf had a higher position 
than a slave, for he could not be sold 
apart from the land, nor could his 
holding be taken from him. He was 
fixed to the soil. A serf ranked lower 
than a freeman, because he could not 
change, his abode, nor marry outside the manor, nor bequeath 
his goods, without the permission of his lord. 

The serf did not receive his land as a free gift; for the use of 
it he owed certain duties to his master. These took chiefly the 
Obligations form of personal services. He must labor on the 
of the serf lord’s demesne for two or three days each week, 
and at specially busy seasons, such as plowing and harvesting, 
he must do extra work. At least half his time was usually 
demanded by the lord. The serf had also to make certain 
payments, either in money or more often in grain, honey, eggs, 
or other produce. When he ground the wheat or pressed the 
grapes which grew on his land, he must use the lord’s mill, 
the lord’s wine-press, and pay the customary charge. 



Serf Warming his 
Hands 

After a medieval manuscript. 

































Decline of Feudalism 


399 


Serfdom developed during the later centuries of the Roman 
Empire and in the early Middle Ages. It is well established 
by the time of Charlemagne. Many serfs seem to have been 
the descendants of the tenants, both free and ser- Origin of 
vile, who had worked the great Roman estates in serfdom 
western Europe. The serf class was also recruited from the 
ranks of free Germans, whom the disturbed conditions of the 
age induced to seek the protection of a lord. Serfdom, how¬ 
ever, was destined to be merely a transitory condition. By the 
close of medieval times, the serfs in most parts of western 
Europe had secured their freedom. 

. 145. Decline of Feudalism 

Feudalism had a vigorous life for about five hundred years. 
Taking definite form early in the ninth century, it flourished 
throughout the later Middle Ages, but became Duration of 
decadent by the opening of the fourteenth century, feudalism 

As a form of local government, feudalism tended to pass 
away when the rulers in England, France, and Spain, and later 
in Germany and Italy, became powerful enough ^ 
to put down private warfare, execute justice, and opposed to 
maintain order everywhere in their dominions, feudalism: 
The kings were always anti-feudal. 

As a form of local industry, feudalism could not survive the 
great changes of the later Middle Ages, when reviving trade, 
commerce, and manufactures had begun to lead 

F° rce s 

to the increase of wealth, the growth of markets, opposed to 
and the substitution of money payments for those : 

in produce or services. Flourishing cities arose, 
as in the days of the Roman Empire, freed themselves from the 
control of the nobles, and became the homes of liberty and 
democracy. The cities, like the kings, were always anti-feudal. 

There was still another anti-feudal force, namely, the Roman 
Church. It is true that many of the higher clergy were feudal 
lords, and that even the monasteries owned vast The church 
estates which were parceled out among tenants, and feudalism 
Nevertheless, the Roman Church as an international society, 


400 


Feudalism 


including men of all ranks and classes, was necessarily opposed 
to feudalism, a local and an aristocratic system. The work 
and influence of this Church will now engage our attention. 

Studies 

i. Write a brief essay on feudal society, using the following words: lord; vassal; 

castle; keep; dungeon; chivalry; tournament; manor; and serf. 2. Explain the 
following terms: vassal; fief; serf; “aid”; homage; squire; investiture; and 
“ relief.” 3. Look up the origin of the words homage, castle, dungeon, and chivalry. 

4. “The real heirs of Charlemagne were from the first neither the kings of France 
nor those of Italy or Germany; but the feudal lords.” Comment on this statement. 

5. Why was the feudal system not found in the Roman Empire in the East during 

the Middle Ages ? 6. Why has feudalism been called * * confusion roughly organized ’ ’ ? 
7. Contrast feudalism as a political system with (a) the classical city-states, ( b ) the 
Roman Empire, and (c) modern national states. 8. What was the effect of feudalism 
on the sentiment of patriotism? 9. What are some of the advantages and disad¬ 
vantages of primogeniture as the rule of inheritance ? 10. Explain these phrases. to 

be in hot water”; “to go through fire and water” ; and “to haul over the coals.” 
11. Compare the oaths administered to witnesses in modern courts with medieval 
oaths. 12 Why was war the usual condition of feudal society? 13. Compare the 
“Peace of God” with the earlier “Roman Peace” (Pax Romana). 14. Mention 
some modern comforts and luxuries which were unknown in feudal castles. 15. What 
is the present meaning of the word “chivalrous”? Flow did it get that meaning? 
16. Why has chivalry been called “the blossom of feudalism”? 17.' Show that 
the serf was not a slave or a “hired man” or a tenant-farmer paying rent. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE PAPACY AND THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE 
962-1273 A.D.i 

146 . Development of Christianity 

We learned in a preceding chapter how Christianity arose 
in the Orient, how it spread rapidly over the Roman Empire, 
how it engaged with the imperial government in 
the long conflict called the Persecutions, how the Cathollclsm 
emperor Constantine, after his conversion, placed it on an equal¬ 
ity with paganism, and how at the end of the fourtlTcentury 
the emperor Theodosius made it the state religion. Christian¬ 
ity now formed a powerful organization, with its own laws, a 
graded system of officers, and with councils attended by clergy 
from all parts of the Roman world. To this organization the 
word Catholic , that is, “universal,” came to be applied. 

A regular arrangement of ecclesiastical offices, from the low¬ 
est to the highest, helped to make the Church centralized and 
strong. Each provincial city had its bishop, church gov- 
assisted by priests and deacons. An archbishop eminent 
(sometimes called a metropolitan) presided over the bishops of 
each province, and a patriarch had jurisdiction in turn over 
metropolitans. This system of Church government seems to 
have been modeled upon that of the Roman Empire. 

The development of the patriarchate calls for special notice. 
There were at first three patriarchs, namely, the bishops of 
Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. These cities The 
ranked among the most important in the Roman patriarchate 
world. It was only natural, therefore, that the churches es- 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter iii, “The Bene¬ 
dictine Rule”; chapter iv, “The Reestablishment of Christianity in Britain”; 
chapter v, “ St. Boniface, Apostle to the Germans”; chapter x, “Monastic Life in the 
Twelfth Century”; chapter xi, “St. Francis and the Franciscans.” 

401 


402 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 


Heresies 


tablished in them should be singled out for preeminence. Some 
years after the removal of the capital to Constantinople, the 
bishop of that imperial city was recognized as a patriarch at 
a general council of the Church. The bishop of Jerusalem sub¬ 
sequently received the same dignity. Henceforth there were 
five patriarchs — four in the East but only one — the bishop 
of Rome — in the West. 1 

While the Church was perfecting her organization, she was 
also elaborating her doctrines. Theologians engaged in many 
controversies upon such subjects as the connection 
of Christ with God and the nature of the Trinity. 
In order to obtain an authoritative expression of Christian 
opinion, councils of the higher clergy were held, at which the 
opposing views were debated and a decision was reached. The 
CounciEof Nicaea, 2 which condemned Arianism, formed the first, 
and one of the most important, of these general gatherings of 
the Church. After the Church had once expressed itself on 
any matter of Christian belief, it was regarded as unlawful to 
maintain a contrary opinion. Those who did so were called 
heretics, and their teachings heresies. 

Christianity spread widely in the East, not only within the 
boundaries of the Roman Empire, but also in Armenia, Persia, 
The Greek India, and Abyssinia. Various heretical sects 
Church developed in these regions, until the orthodox 

faith was preserved in the East only by the Greeks of Asia 
Minor and Europe, who belonged to the Greek Church. They 
acknowledged the religious leadership of the patriarch of Con¬ 
stantinople. 

Christians in the West belonged to the Roman Church. 
The Roman They accepted the jurisdiction in religious matters 
Church of the bishop of Rome. He was known as the 

pope, 3 and his office was called the Papacy. 


1 For the boundaries of the patriarchates in 622 a.d. see the map between pages 
412-413. 

2 See page 235. 

3 Latin papa, “father.” 


403 


Rise and Growth of the Papacy 

147 . Rise and Growth of the Papacy 

The supremacy which the pope acquired over western Chris¬ 
tians was due to several causes. In the first place, the Roman 
Church seemed to them exceptionally sacred, for Ri seo f t he 
tradition declared that it had been founded by Papacy 
St. Peter, who served as its first bishop, or pope. In the second 
place, they regarded the Roman Church as a “mother-church,” 
which had planted so many offshoots in Gaul and Spain and 
afterward in Germany and Britain. In the third place, the 
fact that the Roman Church had always stood firmly by the 
Nicene Creed 1 also commended it to Christians in the West. 

The Roman Church enjoyed practical independence of the 
imperial government after the removal of the capital to Con¬ 
stantinople. When the era of the Teutonic in- Growth of 
vasions began, western Christians turned more the Papacy 
and more for support to the powerful bishop of Rome. He be¬ 
came not only a spiritual, but also a temporal ruler in Italy. 
Pope Leo I (440-461 a.d.) intervened to save Rome from de¬ 
struction when the Vandals sacked the city, and Pope Gregory I 
(590-604 a.d.) did much to prevent the Lombards from con¬ 
quering all the Italian peninsula. During the eighth century 
the alliance of the popes and the Franks 2 gave the Church a 
powerful and generous protector beyond the Alps. Henceforth 
it was to go forward from strength to strength. 

The Roman Church, at the height of its power, held sway 
throughout western Europe. Italy and Sicily, the larger part 
of Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Territorial 
Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, the British extent of the 
Isles, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland Church 
yielded obedience to the pope of Rome. 

Membership in the Roman Church was not a matter of free 
choice. All people, except Jews, were required to belong to it. 
A person joined the Church by baptism, a rite The Church 
usually performed in infancy, and remained in it 
as long as he lived. Every one was expected to conform, at 

2 See page 306. 


1 See page 236. 


404 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

least outwardly, to the doctrines and practices of the Church, 
and any one attacking its authority was liable to punishment 
as a heretic. 

The existence of one Church throughout the western world 
furnished a bond of union between European peoples. The 
The Church Church took no heed of political boundaries, for 
as inter- men of all nationalities entered the ranks of the 
national priesthood and joined the monastic orders. Even 
differences of language counted for little in the Church, since 
Latin was the universal speech of the educated classes. One 
must think, then, of the Church as a great international organi¬ 
zation, in form a monarchy, presided over by the pope, and 
with its center at Rome. 

148 . Church Jurisdiction 

The # Church had regular courts and a special system of 
“canon” law for the trial of offenders against its regulations. 
Church Many cases, which to-day would be decided ac- 

courts cording to the civil or criminal law of the state, in 

the Middle Ages came before the ecclesiastical courts. Since 
marriage was considered a sacrament, the Church took upon 
itself to decide what marriages were lawful. It forbade the 
union of first cousins, of second cousins, and of godparents and 
godchildren. It refused to sanction divorce, for whatever 
cause, if both parties at the time of marriage had been baptized 
Christians. The Church dealt with inheritance under wills, 
for a man could not make a legal will until he had confessed, 
and confession formed part of the sacrament of penance. All 
contracts made binding by oaths came under Church jurisdic¬ 
tion, because an oath was an appeal to God. The Church tried 
those who were charged with any sin against religion, including 
heresy, blasphemy, the taking of interest (usury), and the prac¬ 
tice of witchcraft. Widows, orphans, and the families of pil¬ 
grims or crusaders also enjoyed the special protection of Church 
courts. 

The Church claimed the privilege of judging all cases which 
involved clergymen. No layman, it was declared, ought to 


Church Jurisdiction 405 

interfere with one who, by the sacrament of ordination, had 
been dedicated to God. This demand of the Church to 
try its own officers, according to its own mild and ** Benefit of 
intelligent laws, seems not unreasonable, when cler sy ” 
we remember how rude were the methods of feudal justice. 

An interesting illustration of the power of the Church is 
afforded by the right of “sanctuary.” Any lawbreaker who 
fled to a church building enjoyed, for a limited Right of 
time, the privilege of safe refuge. It was consid- “ sanctuary 
ered a sin against God to drag even the most wicked criminal 
from the altar. The most that could be done was to deny the 
refugee food, so that he might come forth voluntarily. This 
privilege of seeking sanctuary was not without social usefulness, 
for it gave time for angry passions to cool, thus permitting an 
investigation of the charges against an offender. 

Disobedience to the regulations of the Church might be 
followed By excommuHication. It was a coercive measure which 
cut off the offender from Christian fellowship. Excommuni- 
He could not attend religious services or enjoy catlon 
the sacraments considered so necessary to salvation. If he died 
excommunicate, his body could not be buried in consecrated 
ground. By the law of the state he lost all civil rights and for¬ 
feited all his property*. No one might speak to him, feed him, 
or shelter him. This terrible penalty was usually imposed only 
after the sinner had received a fair trial and had spurned all 
entreaties to repent. 

The interdict, another coercive measure, was directed against 
a particular locality, for the fault of some of the inhabitants 
who could not be reached directly. In time of Interdict 
interdict the priests closed the churches and 
neither married the living nor buried the dead. All the in¬ 
habitants “offthe affficted district were ordered to fast, as in Lent, 
and to let their hair grow long in sign of mourning. The inter¬ 
dict also stopped the wheels of government, for courts of jus¬ 
tice were shut, wills could not be made, and public officials were 
forbidden to perform their duties. In some cases the Church 
went so far as to lay an interdict upon an entire kingdom, whose 



406 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

ruler had refused to obey her mandate. The interdict has now 
passed out of use, but excommunication still retains a place 
among the spiritual weapons of the Roman Church. 

149 . The Secular Clergy 

Some one has said that in the Middle Ages there were just 
three classes of society: the nobles who fought; the peasants 
The secular who work ed; and the clergy who prayed. The 

and regular latter class was divided into the secular 1 clergy, 

clergy including deacons, priests, and bishops, who lived 

active lives in the world, and the regular 2 clergy, or monks, 
who passed their days in seclusion behind monastery walls. 

Both secular and regular clergy were distinguished from the 
laity by abstention from money-making activities, differences 
Position of in dress, and the obligation of celibacy. Being 

the clergy unmarried, the clergy had no family cares; being 

free from the necessity of earning their own living, they could 
devote all their time and energy to the service of the Church. 
The sacrament of ordination, which was believed to endow the 
clergy with divine power, also helped to strengthen their in¬ 
fluence. They appeared as a distinct order, in whose charge 
was the care of souls and in whose hands were the keys of heaven. 

An account of the secular clergy naturally begins with the 
parish priest, who had charge of a parish, the smallest division 
Parish of Christendom. No one could act as a priest 

priests without the approval of the bishop, but the noble¬ 

man who supported the parish had the privilege of nominating 
candidates for the position. The priest derived his income 
from lands belonging to the parish, from tithes, and from volun¬ 
tary contributions. The priest was the only Church officer 
who came continually into touch with the common people. 

A group of parishes formed a diocese, over which a bishop 

presided. It was his business to look after the 
Bishops r 

property belonging to the diocese, to hold the eccle¬ 
siastical courts, to visit the clergy, and to see that they did 


1 Latin saculum, used in the sense of “the world.” 

2 Latin regula, a “rule,” referring to the rule or constitution of a monastic order. 


407 


The Regular Clergy 

their duty. The bishop alone could administer the sacraments 
of confirmation and ordination. He also performed the cere¬ 
monies at the 
consecration of a 
new church edifice 
or shrine. Since 
the Church held 
many estates on 
feudal tenure, the 
bishop was usu¬ 
ally a territorial 
lord, owing a vas¬ 
sal’s obligations 
to the king or to 
some powerful 
noble for his land 
and himself ruling 
over vassals in 
different parts of 
the country. 

The archbishop 
stood above the 
bishop in rank. 

In England, for example, there were two archbishops, one re¬ 
siding at York and the other at Canterbury. The church 
which contained the official seat or throne 1 of 
a bishop or archbishop was called a cathedral. It Archbishops 
was ordinarily the largest and most magnificent church in the 
diocese. 

150 . The Regular Clergy 

The Papacy during the Middle Ages found its strongest sup¬ 
porters among the monks. The earlier monks were hermits. 

Some of the hermits, believing that pain and suffer- 
t * •••■1 j The hermits 

mg had a spiritual value, went to extremes of self¬ 
mortification. They dwelt in wells, tombs, and on the summits 

1 Latin cathedra. 



From an English manuscript of the twelfth century. The 
bishop wears a miter and holds in his left hand the pastoral 
staff, or crosier. His right hand is extended in blessing over the 
priest’s head. 



































4 o8 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

of pillars, deprived themselves of necessary food and sleep, wore 
no clothing, and neglected to bathe or to care for the body in 
any way. Other hermits, who did not practice such austerities, 
spent all day or all night in prayer. The examples of these re¬ 
cluses found many imitators in Syria and other eastern lands. 



From a Byzantine miniature in the Vatican. 

A life shut off from all contact with one’s fellows is difficult 
and beyond the strength of ordinary men. The mere human 
Rule of need i° r social intercourse gradually brought the 

St. Basil hermits together, at first in small groups and then 
in larger communities, or monasteries. The next step was to 
give the scattered monasteries a common organization and 
government. Those in the East gradually adopted the regu¬ 
lations which St. Basil, a leading churchman of the fourth cen¬ 
tury, drew up for the guidance of the monks under his direction. 
St. Basil’s Rule, as it is called, has remained to the present time 
the basis of monasticism in the Greek Church. 

The monastic system, which early gained an entrance into 
the Roman Church, looked to St. Benedict as its organizer. 

1 See Tennyson’s poem, St. Simeon Stylites. 



































CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY 

The church formerly attached to the Benedictine abbey of St. Peter in Westminster 
was built in the 13th century, upon the site of an earlier church raised by Edward the 
Confessor in the nth century. Since the Norman Conquest all but one of the English sov¬ 
ereigns have been crowned here, and until the time of George III, it served as their last rest¬ 
ing place. The abbey is now England’s Hall of Fame, where many of her distinguished 
statesmen, warriors, poets, artists, and scientists are buried. 
























































409 


The Regular Clergy 

His most important monastery was at Monte Cassino, midway 
between Rome and Naples. To control the monks of Monte 
Cassino St. Benedict framed a Rule, or constitu- ^ , 

... . - . . 7 Rule of St. 

tion, which was modeled m some respects upon Benedict, 

the earlier Rule of St. Basil. The monks formed a 529 ( ? ) AD - 
corporation, presided over by an abbot , 1 who held office for life. 
Any man, rich or poor, noble or peasant, might enter the mon¬ 
astery, after a year’s probation; having once joined, however, 
he must remain a monk for the rest of his days. The monks 
lived under strict discipline. They could not own any property; 
they could not go beyond the monastery walls without the 
abbot’s consent; and they followed a regular round of worship, 
reading from the Bible, private prayer, and meditation. For 
most of the day, however, they worked hard with their hands, 
doing the necessary washing and cooking for the monastery, 
raising the necessary supplies of vegetables and grains, and 
performing all the other tasks necessary to keep up a large estab¬ 
lishment. “To labor is to pray” was a favorite motto of the 
Benedictines. 

St. Benedict drew a sharp line between the monastic life and 
that of the outside world. He required that, as far as possible, 
each monastery should form an independent, self- a monastic 
supporting community, whose members had no community 
need of going beyond its limits for anything. As a monastery 
increased in wealth and number of inmates, it might come to 
form a very large establishment, covering many acres and pre¬ 
senting within its massive walls the appearance of a fortified 
town. 

The principal buildings of a Benedictine monastery of the 
larger sort were grouped around an inner court, called a cloister. 
These included a church, a refectory, or dining room, The monas _ 
a kitchen, a dormitory, where the monks slept, and tery build- 
a chapter house, where they transacted business. mgs 
There were also a library, a school, a hospital, and a guest 
house for the reception of strangers, besides barns, bakeries, 

1 From a Syrian word, abba, meaning “father.” Hence a monastery was often 
called an abbey. 


410 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

laundries, workshops, and storerooms for provisions. Beyond 
these buildings lay vegetable gardens, orchards, grain fields, 
and often a mill, if the monastery was built on a stream. A 
high wall and ditch gave the monks the necessary seclusion and 
in time of danger protected them from attack. 



Abbey of Saint-Germain des Pres, Paris 


This celebrated monastery was founded in the sixth century. Of the original buildings 
only the abbey church remains. The illustration shows the monastery as it was in 1361 A.D., 
with walls, towers, drawbridge, and moat. Adjoining the church were the cloister, the refec¬ 
tory, and the dormitory. 


The Benedictine monks were a civilizing agency throughout 
the early Middle Ages. A monastery was often at once a model 
The monks farm, an inn, a hospital, a school, and a library, 
as civilizers By the careful cultivation of their lands the monks 
set an example of good farming wherever they settled. They 
entertained pilgrims and travelers, at a period when western 
Europe was almost destitute of inns. They performed many 







Spread of Christianity over Europe 411 

works of charity, feeding the hungry, healing the sick who were 
brought to their doors, and distributing their medicines freely to 
those who needed them. 

In their schools they 
trained both boys who 
wished to become priests 
and those who intended 
to lead active lives in the 
world. The monks, too, 
were the only scholars of 
the age. By copying the 
manuscripts of classical 
authors, they preserved 
valuable books that 
would otherwise have 
been lost. By keeping 
records of the most strik¬ 
ing events of their time, 
they acted as chroniclers 
of medieval history. The 
monks were also missionaries to the heathen peoples of Europe. 

151. Spread of Christianity over Europe 

Christianity first reached the Teutonic invaders in its Arian 

form. Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, and 

Lombards were all Arians. The Roman Church Reconvers i on 

regarded them as heretics and labored with sue- of the Arian 
® i , 1 , Teutons 

cess to reconvert them. This work was at last 
completed when the Lombards, in the seventh century, accepted 
the Catholic faith. 

The Franks and the Anglo-Saxons adopted from the outset 
the Catholic form of Christianity. The conver- Franks and 
sion of the Franks provided the Roman Church Anglo-Saxons 
with its strongest and most faithful adherents converted 
among the Teutonic tribes. 1 The conversion of Anglo- 
Saxon Britain by Augustine and his monks, followed later by 
1 See pages 304-305. 



A Monk Copyist 

From a manuscript in the British Museum, London. 














































412 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

the spread of the Roman Church in Ireland and Scotland, 
firmly united the British Isles to the Papacy . 1 Thus Rome 
during the Middle Ages came to be the one center of church life 
for the peoples of western Europe. 

An Anglo-Saxon monk, St. Boniface, did more than any 
other missionary to carry Christianity to the remote tribes 
of Germany. Like Augustine in England, St. 
and the con- Boniface was sent by the pope, who created him 
version of a missionary bishop and ordered him to “carry 
the Germans ^ WO rd of God to unbelievers.” St. Boniface 
also enjoyed the support of the Frankish rulers, Charles Martel 
and Pepin the Short. This intrepid monk penetrated into the 
heart of heathen Germany. Here he labored for nearly forty 
years, preaching, baptizing, and founding numerous churches, 
monasteries, and schools. His work was continued by Charle¬ 
magne, who forced the Saxons to accept Christianity at the 
point of the sword . 2 All Germany at length became a Christian 
land, devoted to the Papacy. 

Roman Catholicism not only spread to Celtic and Teutonic 
peoples, but it also gained a foothold among the Slavs. Both 
Conversion Henry the Fowler and Otto the Great attempted 
of the Slavs t 0 Christianize the Slavic tribes between the Elbe 
and the Vistula, by locating bishoprics in their territory. The 
work of conversion encountered many setbacks and did not 
reach completion until the middle of the twelfth century. 
The most eminent missionaries to the Slavs were Cyril and 
Methodius. These brother-monks were sent from Constan¬ 
tinople to convert the Moravians, who formed a kingdom on 
the eastern boundary of Germany. Seeing their great success 
as missionaries, the pope invited them to Rome and secured their 
consent to an arrangement which brought the Moravian Chris¬ 
tians under the control of the Papacy. Christianity penetrated 
from Moravia into Bohemia and Poland. These countries still 
remain strongholds of the Roman Church. The Serbians and 
Russians received Christianity by way of Constantinople and 
so became adherents of the Greek Church. 


1 See pages 322-325. 


2 See page 308. 


























































































The Friars 


4i3 


The conversion of the Norwegians and Swedes was well ad¬ 
vanced by the middle of the eleventh century. The Magyars, 
or Hungarians, accepted the Roman form of Extinction of 
Christianity at about the same date. The last heathenism 
parts of heathen Europe to receive the message of the gospel 
were the districts south and east of the Baltic, occupied by the 
Prussians, Lithuanians, and Finns. Their conversion took place 
between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. 

152. The Friars 

The history of Christian monasticism exhibits an ever-widen¬ 
ing social outlook. The early hermits had devoted themselves, 
as they believed, to the service of God by retiring coming of 
to the desert for prayer, meditation, and bodily the fnars 
mortification. St. Benedict’s Rule, as followed by the medieval 
monastic orders, marked a change for the better. It did away 
with extreme forms of self-denial, brought the monks together 
in a common house, and required them to engage in daily man¬ 
ual labor. The Benedictine system, however, had its limita¬ 
tions. The monks lived apart from the world and sought 
chiefly the salvation of their own souls. A new conception of 
the monastic life arose early in the thirteenth century, with the 
coming of the friars. 1 The aim of the friars was social service. 
They took an active part in affairs and devoted themselves en¬ 
tirely to the salvation of others. The foundation of the orders 
of friars was the work of two men, St. Francis in Italy and 
St. Dominic in Spain. 

St. Francis was the son of a prominent merchant of Assisi. 
The young man had before him the prospect of a fine career, 
but before long he put away all thoughts of riches gt Francis> 
and honor, deserted his gay companions, and, list (?)-i226 
choosing “Lady Poverty” as his bride, started out A D ‘ 
to minister to lepers and social outcasts. One day the call came 
to him to preach the gospel, as Christ had preached it, among 
the poor and lowly. The man’s earnestness and charm of 
manner soon drew about him devoted followers. After some 

1 Latin jrater, “brother.” 


414 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 


years St. Francis went to Rome and obtained the pope’s sanc¬ 
tion of his work. The Franciscan order spread so rapidly that 

even in the founder’s 
lifetime there were 
several thousand 
members in Italy and 
other European 
countries. 

St. Dominic, unlike 
St. Francis, was a 

St. Dominic, clefgy- 
1170 -mi man and 

A D ' a student 

of theology. After 
being ordained he 
went to southern 
France and labored 
there for ten years 
among a heretical 
sect known as the 
Albigenses. The order 
of Dominicans grew 
out of the little band 
of volunteers who as¬ 
sisted him in the mission. St. Dominic sent his followers — at 
first only sixteen in number — out into the world to combat 
heresy. They met with great success, and at the founder’s 
death the Dominicans had as many as sixty friaries in various 
European cities. 

The Franciscans and Dominicans resembled each other in 
many ways. They were “ itinerant,” going on foot from place 
Character- Pl ace > an d wearing coarse robes tied round the 

istics of the waist with a rope. They were “mendicants,” who 
possessed no property but lived on the alms of 
the charitable. They were also preachers, who addressed 
their congregations, not in Latin, but in the language of each 
country which they visited. The Franciscans worked especially 



St. Francis blessing the Birds 

From a painting by the Italian artist Giotto. 

















4i5 


Power of the Papacy 

in the slums of the cities; the Dominicans addressed them¬ 
selves rather to educated people and the upper classes. As time 
went on, they relaxed the rule of poverty and became very 
wealthy. They still survive, scattered all over the world and 
employed as teachers and missionaries. 

The friars by their preaching and ministrations did a great 
deal to call forth a religious revival in Europe during the thir¬ 
teenth century. In particular, they helped to The friars 
strengthen the papal authority. Both orders and the 
received the sanction of the pope; both enjoyed Papacy 
many privileges at his hands; and both looked to him for 
direction. The pope employed them to raise money, to preach 
crusades, and to impose excommunications and interdicts. 
The Franciscans and Dominicans formed, in fact, the agents 
of the Papacy. 

153. Power of the Papacy 

The pope was the supreme lawgiver of the Church. His 

decrees might not be set aside by any other person. He made 

new laws in the form of “bulls” 1 and by his “dis- 

,, . . . . -tit The pope as 

pensations could m particular cases set aside old the head of 

laws, such as those forbidding cousins to marry western 

’ . . r i • r™ Christendom 

or monks to obtain release from their vows, the 

pope was also the supreme judge of the Church, for all appeals 

from the lower ecclesiastical courts came before him for decision. 

Finally, the pope was the supreme administrator of the Church. 

He confirmed the election of both bishops and archbishops, 

deposed them, when necessary, or transferred them from one 

diocese to another. The pope also exercised control over the 

monastic orders and called general councils of the Church. 

For assistance in government the pope made use of the cardi¬ 
nals, 2 who formed a board, or “college.” They were chosen at 
first only from the clergy of Rome and the vicinity, The 
but in course of time the pope opened the cardi- cardinals 
nalate to prominent churchmen in all countries. The number 
of cardinals is now fixed at seventy. 

1 So called from the lead seal (Latin bulla ) attached to papal documents. 

2 Latin cardinalis, “principal.” 


4i 6 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

To support the business of the Papacy and to maintain the 
splendor of the papal court required a large annual income, 

income of This came partly from the States of the Church 

the Papacy j n Italy, partly from the gifts of the faithful, and 

partly from the payments made by abbots, bishops, and arch¬ 
bishops when the pope confirmed their election to office. Still 
another source of revenue consisted of “Peter’s Pence,” a tax 
of a penny on each hearth. It was collected every year in 
England and in some Continental countries until the Reforma¬ 
tion. The modern “Peter’s Pence” is a voluntary contribution 
made by Roman Catholics in all countries. 

The powers exercised by the popes during the later Middle 
The Papacy Ages were not secured without a struggle. As a 

and the matter of fact, the concentration of authority in 

Empire papal hands was a gradual development covering 

several hundred years. The pope reached his exalted position 
only after a long contest with the Holy Roman Emperor. 


154. Popes and Emperors, 962-1122 A.D. 


One might suppose that there could be no interference between 
pope and emperor, since they seemed to have separate spheres 
„ , . of action. It was said that God had made the 

between pope pope, as the successor of St. Peter, supreme in 
?n theory er ° r spiritual matters, and the emperor, as heir of the 
Roman Caesars, supreme in temporal matters. 
The former ruled men’s souls, the latter, men’s bodies. The 
two sovereigns thus divided on equal terms the government of 


the world. 

The difficulty with this theory was that it did not work. No 
Their reia one cou ^ decide in advance where the authority 
tions in of the pope ended and where that of the emperor 

practice began. When the pope claimed certain powers 

which were also claimed by the emperor, a conflict between 
the two rulers became inevitable. 

Otto the Great in 962 a.d. restored imperial rule in the West, 
thus founding what in later centuries came to be known as the 


417 


Popes and Emperors 



Otto made the city of Rome the im- 
a pope who proved disobedient to his 


Holy Roman Empire . 1 
perial capital, deposed 
wishes, and on his own 
authority appointed 
another. At the same 

time Otto ottothe 
exacted Great and 

from the the Papacy 
people of Rome an 
oath that they would 
never recognize any 
pope to whose election 
the emperor had not 
consented. 

Otto’s successors 
repeatedly interfered 
in elections to the 
Papacy. One strong 
ruler, Henry III, has 
been called the “pope- 
maker.” 

Early in 
his reign 

he set aside three rival 
claimants to the Papacy, creating a German bishop pope, and 
on three subsequent occasions filled the papal throne by fresh 
appointments. It was clear that if this situation continued 
much longer the Papacy would become simply an imperial 
office; it would be merged in the Empire. 

The death of Henry III, which left the Empire in weak hands, 

gave the Papacy a chance to escape the control of the secular 

power. In 1059 a.d. a church council held at the Papal elec _ 

Lateran Palace decreed that henceforth the right tion by the 
, .„ . Till cardinals 

of choosing the supreme pontiff should belong 
exclusively to the cardinals, who represented the clergy of 
Rome. This arrangement tended to prevent any interference 


The Papacy 
and Otto’s 
successors 


The Spiritual and the Temporal Power 

A tenth-century mosaic in the church of St. John, Rome. 
It represents Christ giving to St. Peter the keys of heaven f 
and to Constantine the banner symbolic of earthly 
dominion. 


1 See page 317. 















4 i 8 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 



with the election of popes, either by the Roman people or by 
foreign sovereigns. 

The Papacy now began to deal with a grave problem which 
affected the Church at large. With the growth of feudalism 

many bishops, abbots, 
and other high digni¬ 
taries had become vas¬ 
sals, holding their lands 

Feudalizing &S fiefs of 
of the Church princes, 

kings, and emperors, 
and owing the usual 
feudal dues. Their 
lords expected them to 
perform the ceremony 
of homage, before “in¬ 
vesting” them with the 
lands attached to the 
bishopric or monastery. 
One can readily see that 
in practice the lords really chose the bishops and abbots, since 
they could always refuse to “invest” those who were displeas¬ 
ing to them. 

Lay investiture appeared intolerable to the reformers in the 
Church. How could the Church keep itself unspotted from 
Lay investi- ^he world when its highest officers were chosen by 
ture from laymen and were compelled to perform unpriestly 

standpoint 1 duties? In the act of investiture the reformers 

also saw the sin of simony 1 — the sale of sacred 
powers — because there was such a temptation before the 
candidate for a bishopric or abbacy to buy the position with 
promises or with money. 

The lords, on the other hand, believed that as long as bishops 
and abbots held vast estates on feudal tenure they should 
continue to perform the obligations of vassalage. To forbid lay 

1 A name derived from Simon Magus, who offered money to the Apostle Peter 
for the power to confer the Holy Spirit. See Acts, viii, 18-20. 


An Abbot’s Seal 

The seal of Abbot Samson, head of the monastery of 
St. Edmundsbury, England, 1182-1212. 


Popes and Emperors 419 

investiture was to deprive the lords of all control over Church 
dignitaries. The real difficulty of the situation Lay investi- 
existed, of course, in the fact that the bishops and ture as 
abbots were both spiritual officers and temporal the^ecular 
rulers, were servants of both the Church and authority 
the State. They found it very difficult to serve two masters. 

A remarkable man now became pope. This was the monk 
Hildebrand, who, on elevation to the Papacy, took the name of 
Gregory VII. Gregory devoted all his talents to p t - fi t f 
the advancement of the Papacy. A contemporary Gregory vii, 
document , 1 which may have been of his own com- ^> 73-1085 
position and at any rate expresses his ideas, 
contains the following statements: “The Roman pontiff alone 
is properly called universal. He alone may depose bishops and 
restore them to office. He is the only person whose feet are 
kissed by all princes. He may depose emperors. He may be 
judged by no one. He may absolve from their allegiance the 
subjects of the wicked. The Roman Church never has erred, 
and never can err, as the Scriptures testify.” Gregory did not 
originate these doctrines, but he was the first pope who ventured 
to make a practical application of them. 

Gregory soon issued a decree against lay investiture. It 
declared that no emperor, king, duke, marquis, ^ 
count, or any other lay person should presume against lay 
to grant investiture, under pain of excommuni- 
cation. This decree was a general one, applying to 
all states of western Europe, but circumstances were such 
that it mainly affected Germany. 

Henry IV, the ruler of Germany at this time, did not refuse 
the papal challenge. He wrote a famous letter to Gregory, 
calling him “no pope but false monk,” telling him Henry IV 
Christ had never called him to the priesthood, and 
and bidding him “come down,” “come down” Gre s° r y vn 
from St. Peter’s throne. Gregory, in reply, deposed Henry as 
emperor, excommunicated him, and freed his subjects from 
their allegiance. 


1 The so-called Dictatus •papa. 


420 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 

This severe sentence made a profound impression in Ger¬ 
many. Henry’s adherents fell away, and it seemed probable 
Canossa, that the German nobles would elect another ruler 
1077 A.D. i n his stead. Henry then decided on abject sub¬ 
mission. He hastened across the Alps and found the pope at 
the castle of Canossa, on the northern slopes of the Apennines. 
It was January, and the snow lay deep on the ground. The 
emperor stood for three days shivering outside the castle gate, 

barefoot and clad in a coarse 
woolen shirt, the garb of a 
penitent. At last, upon the 
entreaties of the Countess 
Matilda of Tuscany, Gregory 
admitted Henry and granted 
absolution. 

The dramatic scene at Ca¬ 
nossa did not end the investi- 

Concordat ture conflict 11 

of Worms, dragged on for 

1122 A.D. half a century 

after Gregory’s death. At 
length the opposing parties 

agreed to what is known as 
the Concordat of Worms, from 
the old German city where it 
was signed. The concordat 
drew a distinction between 
spiritual and lay investiture. 
The emperor renounced investiture by the ring and crosier — the 
emblems of spiritual authority — and permitted bishops and ab¬ 
bots to be elected by the clergy and confirmed in office by the pope. 
The pope, on the other hand, recognized the emperor’s right to 
be present at all elections and to invest bishops and abbots by the 
scepter for whatever lands they held within his domains. This 
reasonable compromise worked well for a time. But it was a truce, 
not a peace. It did not settle the more fundamental issue, whether 
the Papacy or the Holy Roman Empire should be supreme. 



Henry IV, Countess Matilda, 
and Gregory VII 

From a manuscript of the twelfth century, 
now in the Vatican Library at Rome. 

















Popes and Emperors 


421 


155. Popes and Emperors, 1122-1273 A.D. 

Thirty years after the signing of the Concordat of Worms the 
emperor Frederick I, called Barbarossa from his red beard, 

succeeded to the throne. Frederick, the second _ „ . , T 
. _ , Frederick I, 

of the Hohenstaufen dynasty , 1 was capable, imagi- emperor, 

native, and ambitious. He took Charlemagne ^ 1 ^ ) 2_1190 
and Otto the Great as his models and aspired like 
them to rule Christian Europe and the Church. His reign is 
the story of many attempts, ending at length in failure, to unite 
all Italy into a single state under German sway. 

Frederick’s Italian policy brought him at once into conflict 
with the Papacy. The popes gave their support to a league 
of the free cities of northern Italy, which were also Frederick 
threatened by Frederick’s soaring ambitions. The and the 
haughty emperor, having suffered a severe defeat, Papacy 
sought reconciliation with the pope, Alexander III. In the 
presence of a vast throng assembled before St. Mark’s Cathedral 
in Venice, Frederick knelt before the pope and humbly kissed 
his feet. Just a century had passed since the humiliation of 
Henry IV at Canossa. 

The Papacy reached the height of its power under Innocent 
III. The eighteen years of his pontificate were one long effort, 
for the most part successful, to make the pope the p t . fi t f 
arbiter of Europe. Innocent announced the claims i nn0C ent in, 
of the Papacy in the most uncompromising man- 1198-1216 
ner. “As the moon,” he declared, “receives its 
light from the sun, and is inferior to the sun, so do kings receive 
all their glory and dignity from the Holy See.” This meant, 
according to Innocent, that the pope has the right to interfere 
in all secular matters and in the quarrels of rulers. “God,” 
he continued, “has set the Prince of the Apostles over kings and 
kingdoms, with a mission to tear up, plant, destroy, scatter, 
and rebuild.” 

Innocent’s claims were not idle boasts. When Philip Au¬ 
gustus, king of France, divorced his wife and made another 

1 The name of this German family comes from that of their castle in south¬ 
western Swabia. 


422 The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire 


marriage, Innocent declared the divorce void and ordered him to 
take back his discarded queen. Philip refused, and Innocent 
_ . put France under an interdict. From that hour 

Innocent and r 

King Philip all religious rites ceased. The church doors were 

of France barred; the church bells were silent, the sick 

died unshriven, the dead lay unburied. Philip, deserted by 

his retainers, was compelled to submit. 

Innocent, on another occasion, ordered John the English king 

to accept as archbishop of Canterbury a man of his own choos- 

_ . , ing. When lohn declared that he would never 

Innocent and . 

King John of allow the pope’s appointee to set foot on English 
England soil, Innocent replied by excommunicating him 
and laying his kingdom under an interdict. John also had to 
yield and went so far as to surrender England and Ireland to 
the pope, receiving them back again as fiefs, for which he prom¬ 
ised to pay a yearly rent. This tribute money was actually 
paid, though irregularly, for about a century and a half. 

Innocent further exhibited his power by elevating to the 
imperial throne Frederick II, grandson of Frederick Barbarossa. 

The young man, after Innocent’s death, proved 
emperor, ’ to be a most determined opponent of the Papacy. 
1212-1250 He passed much of his long reign in Italy, warring 
vainly against the popes, whose territories separated 
Frederick’s possessions in North Italy from his kingdom of 
Naples and Sicily (the Two Sicilies). Frederick was a man 
of remarkable talents, but he failed, as his grandfather before 
him had failed, to unite Italy under German rule. 

The death of Frederick II’s son (1254 a.d.) ended the Hohen- 
staufen dynasty. There now ensued what is called the Inter¬ 
regnum, a period of nineteen years, during which 
regnum, " Germany was without a ruler. At length the 

1254-1273 pope sent word to the German electors that if 

A.D. 

they did not choose an emperor x he would himself 
do so. The electors then chose Rudolf of Hapsburg 1 (1273 
a.d.). Rudolf gained papal support by resigning all claims on 
Italy, but recompensed himself through the conquest of the 

1 Hapsburg was the name of a castle in northern Switzerland. 














































































♦ 










































<■ I 














423 


Popes and Emperors 

German state of Austria. It was in this way that the Haps- 
burgs became an Austrian dynasty. 

The conflict between popes and emperors was now ended. 
Its results were momentous. Germany, so long neglected by 
its rightful rulers, who pursued the will-o’-the- outcome of 
wisp in Italy, broke up into a mass of duchies, the conflict 
counties, archbishoprics, and free cities. The map of the 
country at this time shows how numerous were these small 
feudal states. They did not combine into a strong govern¬ 
ment till the nineteenth century. Italy likewise remained dis¬ 
united and lacked even a common monarch. The real victor 
was the Papacy, which had crushed the Empire and had pre¬ 
vented the union of Italy and Germany. 

Studies 

i. Explain the following terms: abbot, archbishop, parish, diocese, regular 
clergy, secular clergy, friar, excommunication, interdict, simony, “benefit of clergy,” 
right of “ sanctuary,” papal bull, dispensation, tithes. 2. Mention some respects in 
which the Roman Church in the Middle Ages differed from any religious society of 
the present day. 3. Distinguish between the faith of the Church, the organization 
of the Church, and the Church as a force in history. 4. “Medieval Europe was a 
camp with a church in the background.” Comment on this statement. 5. Why 
did not such an institution as the Papacy develop in the East? 6. Compare the 
social effects of excommunication with those of a modern “boycott.” 7. Summa¬ 
rize the principal benefits which the monastic system conferred on Europe. 8. What 
parts of Europe were Christianized before 800 A.D., between 800-1100 a.d., and after 
1100 a.d. (map between pages 412-413) ? 9. Give reasons for the rapid conversion 

of the Germans to Christianity. 10. Who was the “Apostle to the Germans”? 
n. Who were the “Apostles to the Slavs”? 12. How did the Franciscans and 
the Dominicans supplement each other’s work? 13. “The monks and the friars 
were the militia of the Church.” Comment on this statement. 14. Why has the 
medieval Papacy been called the “ghost” of the Roman Empire? 15. In what 
sense is it true that the Holy Roman Empire was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an 
empire”? 16. Who is the present pope? When and by whom was he elected? 
In what city does he reside? What is his residence called? 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE OCCIDENT AGAINST THE ORIENT: 

THE CRUSADES, 1095-1291 A.D. 1 

156. Causes of the Crusades 

The series of military expeditions, undertaken by the Chris¬ 
tians of Europe for the purpose of recovering the Holy Land 
Place Of the from the Moslems, have received the name of cru- 
crusades in sades. They may be regarded as a renewal of 
histojT the age-long contest between East and West, in 

which the struggle of Greeks and Persians and of Romans and 
Carthaginians formed the earlier episodes. The contest as¬ 
sumed a new character when Europe had become Christian and 
Asia Mohammedan. It was not only two contrasting types of 
civilization but also two rival world religions which in the 
eighth century faced each other under the walls of Constanti¬ 
nople and on the battlefield of Tours. Now, during the twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries, they were to meet again. 

The crusades were first and foremost a spiritual enterprise. 
They sprang from the pilgrimages which Christians had long 
Pilgrimages been accustomed to make to the scenes of Christ’s 
to the life on earth. Men considered it a wonderful 

Holy Land privilege to see the cave in which He was born, 

to kiss the spot where He died, and to kneel in prayer at His 
tomb. The eleventh century was marked by an increased zeal 
for pilgrimages, and from this time travelers to the Holy Land 
were very numerous. For greater security they often joined 
themselves in companies and marched under arms. It needed 
little to transform such pilgrims into crusaders. 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xii, “Richard the 
Lionhearted and the Third Crusade”; chapter xiii, “The Fourth Crusade and the 
Capture, of Constantinople.” 

424 


Causes of the Crusades 


425 


The Arab conquest of the Holy Land had not interrupted the 
stream of pilgrims, for the early caliphs were more tolerant of 
unbelievers than Christian emperors of heretics. Abuse of 
After the conquests of the Seljuk Turks, pilgrim- pilgrims by 
ages became more difficult and dangerous. The the Turks 
Turks were a ruder people than the Arabs whom they displaced, 
and in their fanatic zeal for Islam were not inclined to treat the 
Christians with consid¬ 
eration. Many tales 
floated back to Europe 
of the outrages com¬ 
mitted on the pilgrims 
and on the sacred 
shrines venerated by all 
Christendom. Such 
stories, which lost noth- 
ing in the telling, 
aroused a storm of in¬ 
dignation throughout 
Europe and awakened 
the desire to rescue the 
Holy Land from “ in¬ 
fidels.” 

The crusades were 
not simply an expres¬ 
sion of the simple faith of the Middle Ages. Something more 
than religious enthusiasm sent an unending procession of cru¬ 
saders along the highways of Europe and over the The crusa( ies 
trackless wastes of Asia Minor to Jerusalem. The and the 
crusades, in fact, appealed strongly to the warlike upper c asses 
instincts of the feudal nobles. They saw in an expedition 
against the East an unequaled opportunity for acquiring fame, 
riches, lands, and power. The Normans were especially stirred 
by the prospect of adventure and plunder which the crusading 
movement opened up. By the end of the eleventh century 
they had established themselves in southern Italy and Sicily, 
from which they now looked across the Mediterranean for 



Combat between Crusaders and Moslems 

A picture in a twelfth-century window, formerly 
in the church of St.-Denis, near Paris. 









The Crusades 


426 

further lands to conquer. Norman knights formed a very large 

element in several of the crusaders’ armies. 

The crusades also attracted the lower classes. The misery 

of the common people in medieval Europe was so great that for 

them it seemed not a hardship, but rather a re- 
The lower . . 

classes and lief, to leave their homes m order to better them- 

the crusades se i ves abroad. Famine and pestilence, poverty and 
oppression, drove them to emigrate hopefully to the golden East. 

The Church, in order to foster the crusades, promised both 
religious and secular benefits to those who took part in them. 
Privileges of A warrior of the Cross was to enjoy forgiveness of 
crusaders all his past sins. If he died fighting for the faith, 
he was assured of an immediate entrance to the joys of Paradise. 
The Church also freed him from paying interest on his debts 
and threatened with excommunication any one who molested 
his wife, his children, or his property. 


157. First Crusade, 1095-1099 A.D. 

The signal for the First Crusade was given by the conquests 
of the Seljuk Turks. These barbarians infused fresh energy 
_ . . into Islam. They began a new era of Mohamme- 

Occasion of J ® . 

the First dan expansion by winning almost the whole of 

Crusade Asia Mi nor f r0 m the Roman Empire in the East. 

One of their leaders established himself at Nicaea, the scene of the 
first Church Council, and founded the sultanate of Rum (Rome). 

The presence of the Turks so close to Constantinople was a 
standing menace to all Europe. The emperor, Alexius I, took 
Council of steps to expel the invaders and appealed to Pope 
Clermont, Urban II for aid. Urban lent a willing ear. He 

1095 a.d. summoned a great council of clergy and nobles to 

meet at Clermont in France. Here, in an address which, 
measured by its results, was the most momentous recorded in 
history, the pope preached the First Crusade. He said little 
about the dangers which threatened the Roman Empire in the 
East from the Turks, but dwelt chiefly on the wretched condi¬ 
tion of the Holy Land, with its churches polluted by unbelievers 
and its Christian inhabitants tortured and enslaved. Then, 


First Crusade 


427 


turning to the proud knights who stood by, Urban called upon 
them to abandon their wicked practice of private warfare and 
take up arms, instead, against the infidel. 

Urban’s trumpet call to action met an instant response. 
From the assembled host there went up, as it were, a single 
shout: “God wills it! God wills it!” “It is, in « God wiUs 
truth, His will,” answered Urban, “and let these it!” 
words be your war cry when you unsheath your swords against 
the enemy.” Then man after man pressed forward to receive 
the badge of a crusader, a cross of red cloth. 1 It was to be worn 
on the breast, when the crusader went forth, and on the back 
when he returned. 

The months which followed the Council of Clermont were 
marked by an epidemic of religious excitement in western 
Europe. Popular preachers everywhere took up Prelude t0 
the cry “God wills it!” and urged their hearers the First 
to start for Jerusalem. A monk named Peter the Crusade 
Hermit aroused large parts of France with his passionate elo¬ 
quence, as he rode from town to town, carrying a huge cross 
before him and preaching to vast crowds. Without waiting 
for the main body of nobles, which was to assemble at Con¬ 
stantinople in the summer of 1096 a.d., a horde of poor men, 
women, and children set out, unorganized and almost unarmed, 
on the road to the Holy Land. One of these crusading bands, 
led by Peter the Hermit, managed to reach Constantinople, 
after suffering terrible hardships. The emperor Alexius sent 
his ragged allies as quickly as possible to Asia Minor, where 
most of them were slaughtered by the Turks. 

Meanwhile real armies were gathering in the West. Recruits 
came in greater numbers from France than from any other 
country, a circumstance which resulted in the Xhe main 
crusaders being generally called “Franks” by their crusade 
Moslem foes. They had no single commander, but each con¬ 
tingent set out for Constantinople by its own route and at its 
own time. 2 

1 Hence the name “crusades,” from Latin crux, Old French crois, a “cross.” 

2 For the routes followed by the crusaders see the map between pages 434-435. 


The Crusades 


428 

The crusaders probably did not number more than fifty 
thousand fighting men, but the disunion which prevailed among 
the Turks favored the success of their enterprise, 
crusaders in The y captured Nicaea, overran Asia Minor, and 
Asia Minor at length reached Antioch, the key to northern 

and Syria g yr i a> The city fell after a siege of seven months. 

The crusaders were scarcely within the walls before they found 
themselves besieged by a large Turkish army. They were 
now in a desperate plight: famine wasted their ranks; many 


“Mosque of Omar,” Jerusalem 

More correctly called the Dome of the Rock. It was erected in 691 a.d., but many restora¬ 
tions have taken place since that date. The walls inclosing the entire structure were built 
in the ninth century, and the dome is attributed to Saladin (1189 a.d.). This building, with 
its br illian t tiles covering the walls and its beautiful stained glass, is a fine example of Moham¬ 
medan architecture. 

soldiers deserted; and Alexius disappointed all hope of rescue. 
But the news of the discovery in an Antioch church of the Holy 
Lance which had pierced the Savior’s side restored their droop¬ 
ing spirits. The whole army issued forth from the city, bearing 
the relic as a standard, and drove the Turks in headlong flight. 
This victory opened the road to Jerusalem. 

The crusaders now approached the city which formed the 
goal of all their efforts. Before attacking it they marched 
barefoot in religious procession around the walls, with Peter 





Crusaders’ States in Syria 


429 


the Hermit at their head. Then came the grand assault. Once 
inside the city, the crusaders massacred their „ 

Capture of 

enemies without mercy. Afterwards, we are told, Jerusalem, 
they went “rejoicing, nay for excess of joy weep- 1099 AD - 
the tomb of our Savior to adore and 


mg, to 


give 


thanks.” 


He refused 


Latin 

Kingdom of 
Jerusalem 


158. Crusaders’ States in Syria 

After the capture of Jersualem the crusaders met to elect 
a king. Their choice fell upon Godfrey of Bouillon, 
to wear a crown of gold in the city 
where Christ had worn a crown 
of thorns and ac¬ 
cepted, instead, the 
modest title of “Pro¬ 
tector of the Holy Sepulcher.” 

Godfrey died the next year and 
his brother Baldwin, who suc¬ 
ceeded him, being less scrupulous, 
was crowned king at Bethlehem. 

The new kingdom contained nearly 
a score of fiefs, whose lords made 
war, administered justice, and 
coined money, like independent 
rulers. The main features of Eu¬ 
ropean feudalism were thus trans¬ 
planted to Asiatic soil. 

The winning of Jerusalem and 

the district about it formed hardly 

more than a prelimi- other 

nary stage in the crusaders’ 

, £ c . states 

conquest of Syria. 

Much fighting was still necessary 
before the crusaders could estab¬ 
lish themselves firmly in the country. Instead of founding one 
strong power in Syria, they split up their possessions into the 
three principalities of Tripoli, Antioch, and Edessa. These 
small states owed allegiance to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. 





















43 ° 


The Crusades 


The ability of the crusaders’ states to maintain themselves 
for many years in Syria was largely due to the foundation of 
two military-religious orders. The members were both monks 
and knights; that is, to the monastic vows 
of chastity, poverty, and obedience they 

_ added a fourth vow, which 

Military- ... 

religious bound them to protect pil- 

orders grims and fight the infidels. 

Such a combination of religion and warfare 
made a strong appeal to the medieval mind. 

The Hospitalers, the first of these orders, 
grew out of a brotherhood for the care of 
Hospitalers sick pilgrims in a hospital at 
and Templars Jerusalem. Many knights 
joined the organization, which soon proved 
to be very useful in defending the Holy 
Land. Even more important were the 
Templars, so called because their head¬ 
quarters in Jerusalem lay near the site of 
Solomon’s Temple. Both orders built 
many castles in Syria, the remains of which 
still impress the beholder. They estab¬ 
lished numerous branches in Europe and, 
by presents and legacies, acquired vast 
wealth. The Templars were disbanded in 
the fourteenth century, but the Hospitalers 
continued to fight valiantly against the 
Turks long after the close of the crusading 
movement. 

The depleted ranks of the crusaders were constantly filled 
by fresh bands of pilgrim knights, who visited Palestine to pray 
Christian and at Sepulcher and have a taste of fighting. 

Moslem in In spite of constant border warfare, much trade 
the Holy Land an( j f r i enc Qy intercourse prevailed between Chris¬ 
tians and Moslems. They learned to respect one another both 
as foes and neighbors. The crusaders’ states in Syria became, 
like Spain and Sicily, a meeting-place of East and West. 



Effigy of a Knight 
Templar 

Temple Church, London. 

Shows the kind of armor 
worn between 1190 and 
1225 a.d. 







Second and Third Crusades 


43 i 


159. Second Crusade, 1147-1149 A.D., and Third 
Crusade, 1189-1192 A.D. 

The success of the Christians in the First Crusade had been 
largely due to the disunion among their enemies. The Moslems 
learned in time the value of united action, and at 
length succeeded in capturing Edessa, one of the crusade 
principal Christian outposts in the East. The 
fall of the city, followed by the loss of the entire county of 
Edessa, aroused western Europe to the danger which threatened 
the Latin Kingdom of Jeru¬ 
salem and led to another 
crusading enterprise. This 
Second Crusade had an un¬ 
happy ending. Only a few 
thousands of the host that 
set out from Europe escaped 
annihilation in Asia Minor 
at the hands of the Turks. 

The Moslem world now 
found in the famous Saladin 
a leader for a holy war against 
the Christians. _ x 

Capture of 
Having made Jerusalem 

himself sultan ^ g ® a “ in ' 
of Egypt, Sa¬ 
ladin united the Moslems of 
Syria under his sway and then advanced against the Latin 
Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Christians met him in a great 
battle near the lake of Galilee. It ended in the rout of their 
army and the capture of their king. Even the Holy Cross, 
which they had carried in the midst of the fight, became the 
spoil of the conqueror. Saladin quickly reaped the fruits of 
victory. The Christian cities of Syria opened their gates to 
him, and at last Jerusalem itself surrendered after a short 
siege. Little now remained of the possessions which the cru¬ 
saders had won in the East. 



A Crusader’s Ship 





The Crusades 


43 2 


The news of the taking of Jerusalem spread consternation 
throughout western Christendom. The cry for another crusade 

arose on all sides. 



Third 
Crusade 
organized, 
1189 A.D. 


Once more 
thousands of men sewed the 
cross in gold, or 
silk, or cloth 
upon their gar¬ 
ments and set out 
for the Holy Land. When the 
three greatest rulers of Europe 
— Philip Augustus, 1 king of 
France, Richard I, king of Eng¬ 
land, and'the German emperor, 


Frederick Barbarossa 1 


: T hf. Last Crusade : 


Richard I (looking down on the Holy City): 
“My dream comes true.” A cartoon which 
appeared in Punch, Dec. 19, 1917, at the time 
of the British capture of Jerusalem. 


sumed the cross, it seemed that 
nothing could prevent the resto¬ 
ration of Christian supremacy 
in Syria. 

The Germans under Fred¬ 
erick Barbarossa were the first 
to start. This 
great emperor 
was now nearly 
seventy years old, 
He took the over- 


Death of 
Frederick 
Barbarossa, 
1190 A.D. 


yet age had not lessened his crusading zeal, 
land route, and after much hard fighting reached southern Asia 
Minor. Here, however, he was drowned while trying to cross 
a swollen stream. Many of his discouraged followers at once 
returned to Germany; a few of them, however, pressed on and 
joined the other crusaders before the walls of Acre. 

Acre captured The expedition of the French and English 
Rfchard P ^ Sieved little. Philip and Richard, who came by 
1191 A.D. sea, captured Acre after a hard siege, but their 
quarrels prevented them from following up this initial success. 
Philip soon went home, leaving the further conduct of the cru¬ 
sade in Richard’s hands. 


1 See page 464. 


2 See page 421. 



Fourth Crusade 


433 


The English king remained for fourteen months longer in the 
Holy Land. His campaigns during this time gained for him 
the title of “Lionhearted,” 1 by which he is always Richard 
known. He had many adventures and performed in the 
knightly exploits without number, but could not Sw-iiM ’ 
capture Jerusalem. He and Saladin finally con- A.D. 
eluded a treaty by the terms of which Christians were permitted 
to visit Jerusalem without paying tribute. Richard then set 
sail for England, and with his departure from the Holy Land 
the Third Crusade came to an end. 


160. Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire of Con¬ 
stantinople, 1202-1261 A.D. 

The real author of the Fourth Crusade was the famous pope, 

Innocent III. 2 Young, enthusiastic, and ambitious for the 

glory of the Papacy, he revived the plans of 

Urban II and sought once more to unite the and the 

forces of Christendom against Islam. No em- Fourth 
. . it* i Crusade 

peror or king answered his summons, but a 

number of knights (chiefly French) took the crusader’s vow. 

The leaders of the crusade decided to make Egypt their 
objective point, since this country was then the center of the 
Moslem power. The crusaders accordingly pro- Thg cru _ 
ceeded to Venice, for the purpose of securing trans- saders and 
portation across the Mediterranean. The Vene- the Venetians 
tians agreed to furnish the necessary ships only on condition 
that the crusaders first seize Zara on the eastern coast of the 
Adriatic. Zara was a Christian city, but it was also a naval 
and commercial rival of Venice. In spite of the pope’s protests, 
the crusaders beseiged and captured the city. Even then they 
did not proceed against the Moslems. The Venetians per¬ 
suaded them to turn their arms against Constantinople. Thus 
it happened that these soldiers of the Cross, pledged to war 
with the Moslems, attacked a Christian city, which for centuries 
had formed the chief bulwark of Europe against the Arab and 
the Turk. 

1 In French Cmir-de-Lion. 2 See page 4-21. 


434 


The Crusades 


The crusaders took Constantinople by storm. No “infidels” 
could have treated in worse fashion this home of ancient civiliza¬ 
tion. They burned down a great part of it; they 

oEck of Lon* 

stantinople, slaughtered the inhabitants; they wantonly de- 
1204 A.D. stroyed monuments, statues, paintings, and manu¬ 
scripts — the accumulation of a thousand years. Much of 
the movable wealth they carried away. Never, declared an 
eyewitness of the scene, had there been such plunder since the 
world began. 

The victors hastened to divide between them the lands of 
the Roman Empire in the East. Venice gained some districts 
in Greece, together with nearly all the zEgean 
islands. The chief crusaders formed part of the 
remaining territory into the Latin Empire of Con¬ 
stantinople. It was organized in fiefs, after the 
feudal manner. There was a prince of Achaia, a 
duke of Athens, a marquis of Corinth, and a count of Thebes. 
Large districts, both in Europe and Asia, did not acknowledge, 
however, these “Latin” rulers. The new empire lived less than 
sixty years. At the end of this time the Greeks returned to 
power. 

The so-called Children’s Crusade illustrates at once the reli¬ 
gious enthusiasm and misdirected zeal which marked the whole 
crusading movement. Thousands of French chil¬ 
dren assembled in bands and marched through the 
towns and villages, carrying banners, candles, j 
and crosses, and singing, “Lord God, exalt Chris¬ 
tianity. Lord God, restore to us the true cross.” The children 


The Latin 
Empire of 
Constanti¬ 
nople, 1204 
1261 A.D. 


The 

Children’s 
Crusade, 
1212 A.D. 


could not be restrained at first, but finally hunger compelled 
them to return home. In Germany, during the same year, a 
lad named Nicholas really did succeed in launching a crusade. 
He led a mixed multitude of men and women, boys and girls 
over the Alps into Italy, where they expected to take ship for 
Palestine. Many perished of hardships, many were sold into 
slavery, and only a few ever saw their homes again. “These 
children, Pope Innocent III declared, “put us to shame; while 
we sleep they rush to recover the Holy Land.” 







































■ 




fc 













































- 






















Longitude 


0 East from Greenwich 


10 ° 

























































































Results of the Crusades 


435 

The crusading movement came to an end by the close of the 
thirteenth century. The emperor Frederick II 1 for a short 
time recovered Jerusalem by a treaty, but in 1244 End of the 
a.d. the Holy City became again a possession of crusades 
the Moslems. Acre, the last Christian post in Syria, fell in 
1291 a.d., and with this event the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem 
ceased to exist. The Hospitalers, or Knights of St. John, still 
kept possession of the important islands of Cyprus and Rhodes, 
which long served as a barrier to Moslem expansion over the 
Mediterranean. 

161 . Results of the Crusades 

The crusades, judged by what they set out to accomplish, 
must be accounted a failure. After two hundred years of con¬ 
flict, after a vast expenditure of wealth and human Failure of 
lives, the Holy Land remained in Moslem hands, the crusades 
It is true that the First Crusade did help, by the conquest of 
Syria, to check the advance of the Turks toward Constantinople. 
This benefit was more than undone by the weakening of the 
Roman Empire in the East as a result of the Fourth Crusade. 

There were several reasons for the failure of the crusades. 
In the first place, eastern and western Europe did not cooperate 
in supporting the holy wars. A united Christen- Why the 
dom might well have been invincible, but the bit- crusades 
ter antagonism between the Greek and Roman failed 
churches prevented all unity of action. The emperors at Con¬ 
stantinople, after the First Crusade, rarely assisted the cru¬ 
saders and often secretly hindered them. In the second place, 
the lack of sea-power, as seen in the earlier crusades, worked 
against their success. Instead of being able to go by water 
directly to Syria, it was necessary to follow the long, overland 
route from France or Germany through Hungary, Bulgaria, 
the territory of the Roman Empire in the East, and the deserts 
and mountains of Asia Minor. The armies that reached their 
destination after this toilsome march were in no condition for 
effective campaigning. In the third place, the crusaders were 
1 See page 422. 


The Crusades 


436 

never numerous enough to colonize so large a country as Syria 
and absorb its Moslem population. They conquered part of 
Syria in the First Crusade, but could not hold it permanently 
in the face of determined resistance. 

The Christians of Europe might have continued much longer 
their efforts to recover the Holy Land, had they not lost faith 
Wh th movement - But after two centuries the 

crusades old crusading enthusiasm died out, the old ideal 
ceased 0 f crusa de as “the way of God” lost its spell. 

Men had begun to think less of winning future salvation by visits 
to distant shrines and to think more of their present duties to 
the world about them. They came to bel eve that Jerusalem 
could best be won as Christ and the Apostles had won it — “by 
love, by prayers, and by the shedding of tears.” 

The crusades could not fail to affect in many ways the life 
of western Europe. For instance, they helped to undermine 
T _ . feudalism. Thousands of barons and knights 

the crusades mortgaged or sold their lands in order to raise 
on feudalism mone y f or a crusading expedition. Thousands 
more perished in Syria, and their estates, through failure of 
heirs, reverted to the crown. Moreover, private warfare, that 
curse of the Middle Ages, also tended to die out with the de¬ 
parture for the Holy Land of so many turbulent feudal lords. 
Their decline in both numbers and influence, and the corre¬ 
sponding growth of the royal authority, may best be traced in 
the changes that came about in France, the original home of 
the crusading movement. 

One of the most important effects of the crusades was on 
commerce. They created a constant demand for the trans- 
The crusades P ortat i on °f men and supplies, encouraged ship- 
and building, and extended the market for eastern 

commerce wares in Europe. The products of Damascus, 

Mosul, Alexandria, Cairo, and other great cities were carried 
across the Mediterranean to the Italian seaports, whence they 
found their way into all European lands. The elegance of the 
Orient was so enchanting that an enthusiastic crusader called it 
“the vestibule of Paradise.” 


Results of the Crusades 


437 


Finally, it must be noted how much the crusades contributed 
to intellectual and social progress. They brought the inhabit¬ 
ants of western Europe into close relations with 
one another, with their fellow Christians ' of the Jnd crusades 
Roman Empire in the East, and with the natives intellectual 
of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. The intercourse Ufe 
between Christians and Moslems was particularly stimulating, 
because the East at this time surpassed the West in civiliza¬ 
tion. The crusaders enjoyed the advantages which come from 
travel in strange lands and among unfamiliar peoples. They 
went out from their castles or villages to see great cities, marble 
palaces, superb dresses, and elegant manners; they returned 
with finer tastes, broader ideas, and wider sympathies. The 
crusades opened up a new world. 

The crusades formed one of the most remarkable movements 

in history. They exhibited the nations of western Europe for 

the first time making a united effort for a com- 

_ ° Significance 

mon end. The crusaders were not hired soldiers, of the 

but volunteers, who, while the religious fervor crusades 
lasted, gladly abandoned their homes and faced hardship and 
death in pursuit of a spiritual ideal. They failed to accom¬ 
plish their purpose, yet humanity is the richer for the memory 
of their heroism and chivalry. 


Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate Europe and the Mediterranean lands by religions, 
about 1095 a.d. 2. On an outline map indicate the routes of the First and the 
Third Crusades. 3. Locate on the map the following places: Clermont; Acre; 
Antioch; Zara; Edessa; and Damascus. 4. Identify the following dates: 1204 
a.d. ; 1095 a.d. ; 1096 a.d. ; 1291 A.D. 5. Write a short essay describing the imag¬ 
inary experiences of a crusader to the Holy Land. 6. Mention some instances 
which illustrate the religious enthusiasm of the crusaders. 7. Compare the Mo¬ 
hammedan pilgrimage to Mecca with the pilgrimages of Christians to Jerusalem in 
the Middle Ages. 8. Compare the Christian crusade with the Mohammedan jihad, 
or holy war. 9. How did the expression, a “red-cross knight,” arise? 10. Why 
has the Third Crusade been called “the most interesting international expedition of 
the Middle Ages”? 11. “Mixture, or at least contact of races, is essential to 
progress.” How do the crusades illustrate the truth of this statement? 12. Were 
the crusades the only means by which western Europe was brought in contact 
with Moslem civilization? 


CHAPTER XX 

THE MONGOLS AND THE OTTOMAN TURKS TO 1453 A.D. 


162 . The Mongols 

The extensive steppes of central Asia have formed, for thou¬ 
sands of years, the abode of nomadic peoples belonging to the 
The Asiatic Yellow race. In prehistoric times they spread 
counter- over northern Europe, but they were gradually 
supplanted by white-skinned Indo-Europeans, 
until now only remnants of them exist, such as the Finns and 
Lapps. History records how in later ages the Huns, the Bul¬ 
garians, and the Magyars poured into Europe, spreading terror 
and destruction in their path. These invaders were followed 
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the Mongols and 
Ottoman Turks. Their inroads might well be described as 
Asia’s reply to the crusades, as an Asiatic counter-attack upon 
Europe. 

The Mongols, who have given their name to the entire race 
of yellow-skinned peoples, now chiefly occupy the high plateau 
Mongolia bounded on the north by Siberia, on the south by 
China, on the east by Manchuria, and on the west 
by Turkestan. The greater part of this area consists of the 
Gobi desert, but there are many oases and pastures available 
at different seasons of the year to the inhabitants. The prin¬ 
cipal occupation of the Mongols has always been cattle breeding, 
and their horses, oxen, sheep, and camels have always furnished 
them with food and clothing. 

The Mongols dwell in tents, each family often by itself. 
Severe simplicity is the rule of life, for property consists of little 
Mongol life more than one’s flocks and herds, clothes, and 
and character weapons. The modern Mongols are a peaceable, 
kindly folk, who have adopted from Tibet a debased form of 
Buddhism, but the Mongols of the thirteenth century in religion 

438 


Conquests of the Mongols 


439 


and morals were scarcely more than savages. To ruthless 
cruelty and passion for plunder they added an efficiency in war¬ 
fare which enabled them, within fifty years, to overrun much 
of Asia and the eastern part of Europe. 

The daily life of the Mongols was a training school for war. 
Constant practice in riding, scouting, and the use of arms made 
every man a soldier. The words with which an 

. . Military 

ancient Greek historian described the savage prowess of 

Scythians applied perfectly to the Mongols: the Mongols 

“ Having neither cities nor forts, and carrying their dwellings 

with them wherever they go; accustomed, moreover, one and 



Hut-wagon of the Mongols (Reconstruction) 


On the wagon was placed a sort of hut or pavilion made of wands bound together with nar¬ 
row thongs. The structure was then covered with felt or cloth and provided with latticed 
windows. Hut-wagons, being very light, were sometimes of enormous size. 


all, to shoot from horseback; and living not by husbandry but 
on their cattle, their wagons the only houses that they possess, 
how can they fail of being irresistible?” 1 


163. Conquests of the Mongols, 1206-1405 A.D. 

The Mongols had dwelt for ages in scattered tribes throughout 
the Asiatic wilderness, engaged in petty struggles with one 
another for cattle and pasture lands. The cele- j en ghiz 
brated Jenghiz Khan, 2 chief of one of the tribes, Kh an 
brought them all under his authority and then led them to the 

1 Herodotus, iv, 46. 2 “The Very Mighty King.” 






440 The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks 

conquest of the world. It may be said of him with truth that 
he had the most victorious of military careers, and that he con¬ 
structed the most extensive empire known to history. If Jeng- 
hiz had possessed the ability of a statesman, he would have taken 
a place by the side of Alexander the 
Great and Julius Caesar. 

Jenghiz first sent the Mongol 
armies, which contained many Turk- 
Mongoi ish allies, over the 

Je”ghfz Un<ier Great Wal1 and int0 

1206-1227 the fertile plains of 

A D ‘ China. The northern 

half of that country was quickly 
overrun. Jenghiz then turned west¬ 
ward and invaded Turkestan and 
Persia. Seven centuries have not 
sufficed to repair the damage which 
the Mongols wrought in these once- 
prosperous lands. The great cities 
of Bokhara, Samarkand, Merv, and 
Herat, long centers of Moslem cul¬ 
ture, were pillaged and burned, and their inhabitants were put 
to the sword. Still further conquests enlarged the empire, which 
at the death of Jenghiz stretched from the Dnieper River to 
the China Sea. 

The Mongol dominions in the thirteenth century were in- 
Mongol creased by the addition of Korea, southern China, 

under the and Meso P ota mia, as well as the greater part of 
successors Asia Minor and Russia. The Mongol realm was 
of Jenghiz ve ry loosely organized, however, and during the 
fourteenth century it fell apart into a number of independent 
states, or khanates. 

It was reserved for another renowned Oriental monarch, 
Timur the Lame, 1 to restore the empire of Jenghiz Khan. His 
biographers traced his descent from that famous Mongol, but 
Timur was a Turk and an adherent of Islam. He has come 

1 Or Tamerlane. 






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«s&% 


Timur the Lame 

After a Persian miniature painting. 


441 































































































































442 The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks 

down to us as perhaps the most terrible personification in his¬ 
tory of the evil spirit of conquest. Such distant regions as 
India, Syria, Armenia, Asia Minor, and Russia 
Lame, died were traversed by Timur s soldiers, who left be- 

1405 A.D. hind them only the smoking ruins of a thousand 

cities and abominable trophies in the shape of columns or 
pyramids of human heads. Timur died in his seventieth 
year, while leading his troops against China, and the exten¬ 
sive empire which he had built up in Asia soon crumbled to 
pieces. 

164. The Mongols in China and India 

The Mongols ruled over China for about one hundred and 
fifty years. During this period they became thoroughly imbued 
Mongol sway with Chinese culture. “China,” said an old 
in China writer, “is a sea that salts all the rivers flowing 
into it.” The most eminent of the Mongol emperors was Jenghiz 
Khan’s grandson, Kublai. He built a new capital, which in 
medieval times was known as Cambaluc and is now called 
Peking. While Kublai was on the throne, the Venetian traveler, 
Marco Polo, visited China, and he describes in glowing colors 
the virtues and glories of the “Great Khan.” There seems to 
have been considerable trade between Europe and China at 
this time, and Franciscan missionaries and papal legates pene¬ 
trated to the remote East. After the downfall of the Mongol 
dynasty China again shut her doors to foreign peoples. All 
intercourse with Europe ceased until the arrival of the Portu¬ 
guese in the sixteenth century. 

Northern India, which in earlier ages had witnessed the com¬ 
ing of Persian, Macedonian, and Arab conquerors, did not escape 
Timur and a f ear ful visitation by the Asiatic hordes. Timur 

Baber the Lame, at the head of an innumerable host, 

rushed down upon the banks of the Indus and the 
Ganges and sacked Delhi, making there a full display of his un¬ 
rivaled ferocity. Timur’s invasion left no permanent impress 
on the history of India, but its memory fired the imagination 
of another Turkish chieftain, Baber, a remote descendant of 


« 





























































“ 




















. 






























: . 




- 























The Mongols in Eastern Europe 


443 


Timur. He invaded India and made himself master of the 
northern part of the country. 

The empire which Baber established in India is known as 
that of the Moguls, an Arabic form of the word Mongol. The 
Moguls, however, were Turkish in blood and Empire of 
Mohammedans in religion. The Mogul emperors the Moguls 
reigned in great splendor from their capitals at Delhi and Agra, 
until the decline of their power in the eighteenth century opened 
the way for the British conquest of India. 

165. The Mongols in Eastern Europe 

The location of Russia on the border of Asia exposed that 
country to the full force of the Mongol attack. Jenghiz Khan’s 
successors, entering Europe north of the Caspian, Mongol 
swept resistlessly over the Russian plain. Mos- conquest of 
cow and Kiev fell in quick succession, and before Russia 
long the greater part of Russia was in the hands of the Mongols. 
Wholesale massacres marked their progress. “No eye re¬ 
mained open to weep for the dead.” 

Still the invaders pressed on. They devastated Hungary, 
driving the Magyar king in panic flight from his realm. They 
overran Poland and defeated the knighthood of 

. Invasion of 

Germany m a great battle. I he European peoples, Hungary and 

taken completely by surprise, could offer no effec- Poland by 
. , . . . . . . . the Mongols 

tive resistance to these Asiatics, who combined 

superiority in numbers with surpassing generalship. But the 
wave of Mongol invasion, which threatened to engulf Europe 
in barbarism, receded as quickly as it came. The Mongols soon 
withdrew from Hungary and Poland and retired to their posses¬ 
sions in Russia. 

The ruler of the Golden Horde, as the western section of 
the Mongol Empire was called, continued to be the lord of 
Russia for about two hundred and fifty years. The Golden 
Russia, throughout this period, was little more Horde 
than a dependency of Asia. The conquered people were obliged 
to pay a heavy tribute and to furnish soldiers for the Mongol 
armies. Their princes, also, became vassals of the Great Khan. 


444 The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks 



The Mongols, or “Tartars” 1 are usually said to have Oriental¬ 
ized Russia. It seems clear, however, that they did not inter- 
Mongol ^ ere language, religion, and laws of their 

influence subjects. The chief result of the Mongol suprem¬ 
acy was to cut off Russia from western Europe, 
just at the time when England, France, Germany, and 

i The name Tartar (more correctly, Tatar) was originally applied to both Mongol 
and Turkish tribes that entered Russia. 


































The Ottoman Turks and Their Conquests 445 

Italy were emerging from the darkness of the early Middle 
Ages. 

The invasion of the Mongols proved to be, indirectly, the 
making of the Russian state. The country, before they came, 
was a patchwork of warring principalities. The Rise of 
need of union against the common enemy welded Muscovy 
them together. The principality of Muscovy, so named from 
the capital city of Moscow, conquered its neighbors, annexed 
the important city of Novgorod, whose vast possessions stretched 
from Lapland to the Urals, and finally became powerful enough 
to shake off the Mongol yoke. 

The final deliverance of Russia from the Mongols was accom¬ 
plished by Ivan III, surnamed the Great. He is generally 

regarded as the founder of Russian autocracy, _ 

Al ° . , . , , , , , . Ivan ni, 

that is, 01 a personal, absolute, and arbitrary the Great, 

government. With a view to strengthening his i 4 ^ 2 ' 1505 
claim to be the political heir of the Eastern em¬ 
perors, Ivan married a niece of the last ruler at Constantinople, 
who had fallen in the defense of his capital against the Otto¬ 
man Turks. The Russian ruler described himself henceforth as 
“the new Tsar 1 Constantine in the new city of Constantine, 
Moscow.” 

166. The Ottoman Turks and their Conquests, 
1227-1453 A.D. 

The first appearance of the Ottoman Turks in history dates 
from 1227 A.D., the year of Jenghiz Khan’s death. In that 
year a small Turkish horde, driven westward from Rise of the 
their central Asian homes by the Mongol advance, 0ttomans 
settled in Asia Minor. They enjoyed the protection of their 
kinsmen, the Seljuk Turks, and from them accepted Islam. 
As the Seljuk power declined, that of the Ottomans rose in its 
stead. Their chieftain, Othman , 2 finally declared his inde¬ 
pendence and became the founder of the Ottoman Empire. 

The growth of the Ottoman power was almost as rapid as that 

1 The title Tsar, or Czar, is supposed to be a contraction of the word Caesar. 

2 Whence the name Ottoman applied to this branch of the Turks. 


446 The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks 



of the Arabs or of the Mongols. During the first half of the 
fourteenth century they firmly established themselves in north- 
Ottoman western Asia Minor, along the beautiful shores 
expansion washed by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmora, 
and the Dardanelles. The second half of the same century 
found them in Europe, wresting province after province from 
the feeble hands of the Eastern emperors. All that now re¬ 
mained of the Roman 
Empire in the East was 
Constantinople and a 
small district in the vi¬ 
cinity of that city. 

The Turks owed much 
of their success to a body 

The of troops 

Janizaries known as 

Janizaries. These were 
recruited for the most 
part from Christian chil¬ 
dren surrendered by their 
parents as tribute. The 
Janizaries received an 
education in the Moslem 
faith and careful instruc¬ 
tion in the use of arms. Their discipline and fanatic zeal made 
them irresistible on the field of battle. 


Mohammed II 

A medal showing the strong face of the conqueror 
of Constantinople. 


Constantinople had never recovered from the blow inflicted 
upon it by the freebooters of the Fourth Crusade. It was iso- 

Capture of lated from western Europe by the advance of the 
Constanti- Turks. Frantic appeals for help brought only a 

1453 A.D. few ships and men from Genoa and Venice. When 

i n I 453 A - D - the sultan Mohammed II, command¬ 
ing a large army amply supplied with artillery, appeared be¬ 
fore the walls, all men knew that Constantinople was doomed. 
The Christians were a mere handful compared to the Ottoman 
hordes. Yet they held out for nearly two months against every 
assault. At length the Turks scaled the walls and entered the 



Empire of the Ottoman Turks at the Fall of Constantinople, 1453 A - D - 


1 



447 












































































448 The Mongols and the Ottoman Turks 

city. The emperor fell in the onrush of the Janizaries. Con¬ 
stantinople endured a sack of three days, during which many 
works of art, previously spared by the crusaders, were destroyed. 
Mohammed II then made a triumphal entry into the city and 
in Sancta Sophia, now stripped of its crosses, images, and other 
Christian emblems, proclaimed the faith of the prophet. 

The capture of Constantinople is rightly regarded as an 
epoch-making event. It meant the end, once for all, of the 
An epoch- empire which had served so long as the rearguard 
making event 0 f Christian civilization, as the bulwark of the 
West against the East. Europe stood aghast at a calamity 
which she had done so little to prevent. The Christian powers 
of the West have been paying dearly, even to our own time, for 
their failure to save New Rome from Moslem hands. 

Studies 

x. Locate these cities: Bokhara; Samarkand; Merv; Herat; Bagdad; Peking; 
Delhi; Kiev; Moscow; and Novgorod. 2. Who were Baber, Kublai Khan, 
Othman, Mohammed II, and Ivan the Great? 3. Why should the steppes of cen¬ 
tral and northern Asia have been a nursery of warlike peoples? 4. What parts of 
Asia were not included in the Mongol Empire at its greatest extent? 5. “Scratch 
a Russian and you will find a Tartar.” What does this mean? 6. Why did the 
Mongol conquest of Russia tend to strengthen the sentiment of nationality in the 
Russian people? 7. How did the tsars come to regard themselves as the successors 
of the Eastern emperors? 8. Compare the Janizaries with the Christian military- 
religious orders. 9. IIow was “the victory of the Crescent secured by the children 
of the Cross”? 10. Why were the invasions of the Mongols and Ottoman Turks 
more destructive to civilization than those of the Germans, the Arabs, and the 
Northmen? 11. Enumerate the more important services of the Roman Empire 
in the East to civilization. 12. On an outline map indicate the extent of the Otto¬ 
man Empire in 1453 ajd. 


CHAPTER XXI 

EUROPEAN NATIONS DURING THE LATER MIDDLE AGES 1 
167. Growth of the Nations 

The map of western Europe, that is, of Europe west of the 
great Russian plain and the Balkan peninsula, shows this part 
of the continent at present divided among many The new 
separate and independent nations. Nearly all nationalism 
of them arose during the latter part of the Middle Ages. They 
have existed so long that we now think of the national state 
as the highest type of human association, forgetting that it has 
been preceded by other forms of political organization, such as 
the Greek republic, the Roman Empire, and the feudal state, 
and that it may be followed some day by an international or 
universal state composed of all civilized peoples. 

The national states were the successors of feudalism. The 
establishment of the feudal system in any country meant, as 
has been seen, its division into numerous small .. . 

communities, each with a law court, treasury, and state and 
army. This system of local government helped feudallsm 
to keep order in an age of confusion, but it did not meet the 
needs of a progressive society. 

A feudal king was often little more than a figurehead, equaled, 
or perhaps surpassed, in power by some of his own vassals. But 
in England, France, Spain, and other countries a The new 
series of astute and energetic sovereigns were able monarchies 
to strengthen their authority at the expense of the nobles. 
They formed permanent armies by insisting that all military 
service should be rendered to themselves and not to the feudal 
lords. They put down private warfare and took over the ad- 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xiv, “St. Louis”; 
chapter xv, “Episodes of the Hundred Years’ War”; chapter xvi, “Memoirs of a 
French Courtier.” Webster, Historical Source Book, No. i, “The Great Charter, 
1215”; No. 2, “Confirmation of the Charters, 1297.” 

449 


450 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

ministration of justice. They developed a revenue system, with 
the taxes collected by royal officers and deposited in the royal 
treasury. The kings thus succeeded in creating a unified, cen¬ 
tralized government, which all their subjects feared, respected, 
and obeyed. 

The new monarchies, by breaking down feudalism, promoted 
the growth of national or patriotic feelings. Loyalty to the 
The senti- sovereign and to the state that, he represented 
ment of na- gradually replaced allegiance to the feudal lord. 

Nobles, clergy, city folk, and peasants began to 
think of themselves as one people with one “fatherland.” This 
sentiment of nationality was especially well developed in Eng¬ 
land, France, and Spain at the close of the Middle Ages. 

168. England under William the Conqueror, 
1066-1087 A.D.; the Norman Kingship 

William the Conqueror had won England by force of arms. 
He ruled it as a despot. Those who resisted him he treated 
William’s as rebels, confiscating their land and giving it to 
despotic rule Norman followers. To prevent uprisings he built 
a castle in every important town and garrisoned it with his own 
soldiers. The Tower of London still stands as an impressive 
memorial of the days of the Conquest. William did not rely 
on force alone. He sought with success to attach the English 
to himself by retaining most of their old customs and by giving 
them an enlightened administration of the law. “Good peace 
he made in this land,” said the old Anglo-Saxon chronicler, “so 
that a man might travel over the kingdom with his bosom full 
of gold without molestation, and no man durst kill another, how¬ 
ever great the injury he might have received from him.” 

The feudal system on the Continent permitted a powerful 
noble to gather his vassals and make war on the king, whenever 
William and he chose to do so. William had been familiar with 
Feudalism this ev q s id e 0 f feudalism, both in France and in 
his own duchy of Normandy, and he determined to prevent its 
introduction into England. William established the principle 
that a vassal owed his first duty to the king and not to his im- 


45 i 


Royal Justice and the Common Law 

mediate lord. If a noble rebelled and his men followed him, 
they were to be treated as traitors. Rebellion proved to be an 
especially difficult matter in England, since the estates which a 
great lord possessed were not all in any one place but were scat¬ 
tered about the kingdom. A noble who planned to revolt could 
be put down before he was able to collect his retainers from the 
most distant parts of the country. 

B Cftusmu Heddol kxc 

Bp xb don 7 a Inf cJum/Jimfypamm 

adettva#.ltfc7 Cb\(cvav/ tttelltf. Com m u Altpro 
ub. dbtuw cto tttoloio tjiie injjki autiffi* hSbdbnt' 
ibtutf&je* iim'mtxpedma i<T : tuitycnfif.ye. ifcaj/ 
dlev^y <ror% Atuf.iurL av. lib tata/f fegiM omferTh^t, 

A Passage from Domesday Book 

Beginning of the entry for Oxford. The handwriting is the beautiful Carolingian minuscule 
which the Norman Conquest introduced into England. The two volumes of this compilation 
and the chest in which they were formerly preserved may be seen in the Public Record Office, 
London. 

The extent of William’s authority is illustrated by the survey 
which he caused to have made of the taxable property of the 
kingdom. Royal commissioners went throughout Domesday 
the length and breadth of England to find out how Book 
much farm land there was in every county, how many landowners 
there were, and what each man possessed, to the last ox or cow 
or pig. The reports were set down in the famous Domesday 
Book, perhaps so called because one could no more appeal from 
it than from the Last Judgment. A similar census of population 
and property had never before been taken in the Middle Ages. 

169. England under Henry II, 1154-1189 A.D.; 

Royal Justice and the Common Law 

A grandson of William the Conqueror, Henry II, was the first 
of the Plantagenet 1 family. Henry spent more than half of his 

1 The name comes from that of the broom plant (Latin planta genesta ), a sprig 
of which Henry’s father used to wear in his hat. The family is also called Angevin, 
because Henry on his father’s side descended from the counts of Anjou in France. 




452 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

reign abroad, looking after his extensive possessions in France, 
but this fact did not prevent him from giving England good 
Henry II, government. Three things in which all English- 
Piantagenet men take special pride —the courts, the jury sys¬ 
tem, and the Common law —began to take shape during 
Henry’s reign. 

Henry, first of all, developed the royal court of justice. This 
had been, at first, simply the court of the king’s chief vassals, 
The king’s corresponding to the local feudal courts. Henry 
court transformed it from an occasional assembly of 

warlike nobles into a regular body of trained lawyers, and at 
the same time opened its doors to all except serfs. The higher 
courts of England have sprung from this institution. 

Henry also took measures to bring the king’s justice directly 
to the people. He sent members of the royal court on circuit 
Circuit throughout the kingdom. At least once a year a 

judges judge was to hold an assembly in each county and 

try such cases as were brought before him. This system of cir¬ 
cuit judges helped to make the law uniform in all parts of Eng¬ 
land. 

The king’s court owed much of its popularity to the fact that 
it employed a better form of trying cases than the old ordeal, 

Trial by oath-swearing, or judicial duel. Henry intro- 
“ petty jury ” duced the met j lod of trial by j ury> When a cage 

came before the king’s judges on circuit, they were to select 
twelve knights, usually neighbors of the parties engaged in the 
dispute, to make an investigation and give a verdict as to which 
side was in the right. These selected men bore the name of 
jurors, because they swore to tell the truth. Thus arose the 
petty jury,” an institution which nearly all European peoples 
have borrowed from England. 

Another of Henry’s innovations developed into the “grand 
jury.” Before his time many offenders went unpunished, 
Accusation especially if they were so powerful that no private 
by the individual dared accuse them. Henry provided 

that when the king’s justices came to a county 
court a number of selected men should be put upon their oath 


Windsor Castle 

The town of Windsor lies on the west bank of the Thames, about twenty-one miles from London. Its famous castle has been the chief residence of Eng¬ 
lish sovereigns from the time of William the Conqueror. The massive round tower, which forms the most conspicuous feature of the castle, was built by 
Henry HI about 1272 a . d ., but Edward III wholly reconstructed it about 1344 a . d . The state apartments of the castle include the throne room, a guard 
room with medieval armor, a reception room adorned with tapestries, picture galleries, and the royal library. 



lit' - •■mm; J V'T’ 7 ' ~ 


453 















































































































































454 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

and required to give the names of any persons whom they knew 
or believed to be guilty of crimes. Such persons were then to 
be arrested and tried. This “ grand jury,” as it came to be 
called, thus had the public duty of making accusations, whether 
its members felt any personal interest in the matter or not. 

The decisions handed down by the legal experts who com¬ 
posed the royal court formed the basis of the English system of 
The jurisprudence, or the Common law. This law, 

Common law f r0 m Henry II’s time, became so widespread and 

so firmly established that it could not be supplanted by the 
Roman law followed on the Continent. English colonists 
‘carried the Common law across the seas, so that it now prevails 
throughout a great part of the world. 

170 . The Great Charter, 1215 A.D. 

Henry II was followed on the throne by his son, Richard, the 
Lion-hearted crusader. Richard, after a short reign, was suc- 
w . . f ceeded by his brother- John, whose oppressive rule 

Magna provoked a revolt of the feudal lords, the clergy, 

Carta, and the commons . 1 The nobles formed the “army 

of God and the Holy Church,” as it was called, 
and occupied London, thus ranging the townspeople on their 
side. John was compelled to yield. At Runnimede on the 
Thames, not far from Windsor, he set his seal to the famous 
grant of privileges known as Magna Carta (the Great Charter).. 

Magna Carta does not profess to be a charter of liberties for 
all Englishmen. Most of its sixty-three clauses merely guaran- 
Character of tee to each member of the coalition against John 
Magna Carta — nobles, clergy, and commons — those special 
privileges which the Norman rulers had tried to take away. 
Very little is said in this long document about the serfs, who 
composed probably five-sixths of the population of England in 
the thirteenth century. 

There are, however, three clauses of Magna Carta which 
came to have a most important part in the history of English 


* A term which refers to all freemen in town and country below the rank of nobles. 


Parliament during the Thirteenth Century 455 


freedom. The first declared that no taxes were to be levied on 

the nobles — besides the three recognized feudal aids — except 

by consent of the Great Council of the realm. By «. 

J significance 

this clause the nobles compelled the king to 'secure of Magna 
their consent before imposing any taxation. The Carta 
second set forth that no one was to be arrested, imprisoned, or 
punished in any way, except after a trial by his equals and in 
accordance with the law of the land. The third said simply 



Facsimile of the opening lines. Four copies of Magna Carta, sealed with the great seal of 
King John, as well as several unsealed copies, are in existence. The British Museum possesses 
two of the sealed copies; the other two belong to the cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury,, 
respectively. 


that to no one should justice be sold, denied, or delayed. These 
last two clauses contained the germ of great legal principles 
on which the English people relied for protection against des¬ 
potic kings. They form a part of our American inheritance 
from England and have passed into the laws of all our states. 


171. Parliament during the Thirteenth Century 

The thirteenth century, which opened so auspiciously with 
the winning of the Great Charter, is also memorable as the time 
when England developed her Parliament 1 into something like 

1 The word “parliament,” from French parler, “to speak,” originally meant a 
talk or conference. Later, the word came to be applied to the body of persons 
assembled for conference. 



456 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 


its present form. The first steps in parliamentary government 

were taken during the reign of John’s son, Henry III. It had 

long been the custom in England that in all im- 
The Wite- 5 . ° 

nagemot and portarit matters a ruler ought not to act without 

the Great the advice and consent of his leading men. The 
Anglo-Saxon kings sought the advice and con¬ 
sent of their Witenagemot, a body of nobles, royal officers, 
bishops, and abbots. The Witenagemot did not disappear after 
the Norman Conquest. Under the name of the Great Coun¬ 
cil it continued to meet from time to time for consultation 
with the king. This assembly was now to be transformed 
from a feudal body into a parliament representing the entire 
nation. 

The Great Council, which by one of the provisions of Magna 
Carta had been required to give its consent to the levying of 
Simon de feudal dues, met quite frequently during Henry 
Montfort’s IITs reign. On one occasion, when Henry was 

1265Td* 11, * n ur S ent nee ^ °f money and the bishops and lords 

refused to grant it, the king took the significant 
step of calling to the council two knights from each county to 
declare what aid they would give him. These knights, so ran 
Henry’s summons, were to come “in the stead of each and all,” 
in other words, they were to act as representatives of the coun¬ 
ties. Then in 1265 a.d., when the nobles were at war with the 
king, a second and even more significant step was taken. Their 
leader, Simon de Montfort, summoned to the council not only 
two knights from each county, but also two citizens from each 
of the more important towns. 

The custom of selecting certain men to act in the name and 

on the behalf of the community had existed during Anglo- 

The repre- Saxon times in local government. Representatives 

sentative of the counties had been employed by the Nor- 
system , • . 

man kings to act as assessors m levying taxes. As 

we have just learned, the juries of Henry II also consisted of such 
representatives. The English people, in fact, were quite familiar 
with the idea of representation long before it was applied on a 
larger scale to Parliament. 


Parliament during the Thirteenth Century 457 


Simon de Montfort’s Parliament included only his own sup¬ 
porters, and hence was not a truly national body. But it made 
a precedent for the future. Thirty years later i( Model 
Edward I called together at Westminster, now a Parliament ” 
part of London, a Parliament which included all of Edward h 
classes of the people. Here were present archbish¬ 
ops, bishops, and abbots, earls and barons, two knights from 
every county, and two townsmen to represent each town in that 



A Sitting of Parliament at Westminster 

After an old manuscript. 


county. After this time all these classes were regularly sum¬ 
moned to meet in assembly. 

The separation of Parliament into two chambers came in 
the fourteenth century. The House of Lords House of 
included the nobles and higher clergy; the House Lords and 
of Commons contained the representatives from ^ 0 0 ^ 0 ° n f s 
counties and cities. This bicameral arrangement, 
as it is called, has been followed in the parliaments of most 
modern countries. 










































458 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

The early English Parliament was not a law-making but a 
tax-voting body. The king would call the two houses in session 
Powers of on ly when he needed their sanction for raising 
Parliament money. Parliament in its turn would refuse to 
grant supplies until the king had corrected abuses in the admin¬ 
istration or had removed unpopular officials. This control 
of the public purse in time enabled Parliament to grasp other 
powers. It became an accepted principle that royal officials 
were responsible to Parliament for their actions, that the king 
himself might be deposed for good cause, and that bills, when 
passed by Parliament and signed by the king, were the law of 
the land. England thus worked out in the Middle Ages a 
system of parliamentary government which nearly all civilized 
nations have held worthy of imitation. 


172. Expansion of England under Edward I, 
1272-1307 A.D. 

Our narrative has been confined until now to England, which 
forms, together with Wales and Scotland, the island known as 
The Great Britain. Ireland is the only other impor- 

British Isles tant division of the United Kingdom. It was al¬ 
most inevitable that in process of time the British Isles should 
have come under a single government, but political unity has not 
fused English, Scotch, Welsh, and Irish into a single people. 

The conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons drove many of 
the Welsh, as the invaders called the Britons, into the western 
part of the island. This district, henceforth 
known as Wales, was one of the last strongholds of 
the Celts. Even to-day a variety of the old Celtic language, 
called Cymric, is still spoken by the Welsh people. 

The Welsh long resisted all attempts to subjugate them. 
Harold exerted some authority over Wales, William the Con- 
Conquest queror entered part of it, and Henry II induced 
of Wales i oca t rulers to acknowledge him as overlord, 

but it was Edward I who brought all Wales under English sway. 
Edward fostered the building of towns in his new possession, 
divided it into counties or shires, after the system that pre- 


Wales 



Dominions of Wjilliam the Conqueror, 1066-87 

Wales: Independence suppressed by Edward I, 
1284; incorporated with England by Henry Vlll,11536 

Scotland: Independence recognized by Edjvard 
111,1328; joined with England in a personal union un- 
"der James I, 1603; legislative union with England, 1707 
Ireland; Conquest completed by Cromwell, 1649;- 
united with Great Britain, 1801 

- English Pale at the end of the 15th century 



The British Isles during the Middle Ages 

459 














































460 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 


vailed in England, and introduced the Common law. He called 
his son, Edward II, who was born in the country, the “ Prince 
of Wales,” and this title has ever since been borne by the heir 
apparent to the English throne. The work of uniting Wales 
to England went on slowly, and two centuries elapsed before 

Wales was granted representa¬ 
tion in the House of Commons. 

Scotland derives its name 

from the Scots, who came over 

from Ireland early 
Scotland . . ... J 

m the fifth cen¬ 

tury. The Highlands, a nest of 
rugged mountains washed by 
cold and stormy seas, have al¬ 
ways been occupied in historic 
times by a Celtic-speaking peo¬ 
ple, whose language, called 
Gaelic, is not yet extinct there. 
This part of Scotland, like 
Wales, was a home of freedom. 
The Romans did not attempt 
to annex the Highlands, and the 
Anglo-Saxons and Danes never 
penetrated their fastnesses. 
The Lowlands, which include 
only about one-third of the 
country, were subdued by the Teutonic invaders, and so this dis¬ 
trict became thoroughly English in language and culture. 

One might suppose that the Lowlands, geographically only 
an extension of England and inhabited by an English-speaking 
The Scottish people, would have early united with the southern 
kingdom kingdom. It turned out otherwise. The Low¬ 
lands and the Highlands came together under a line of Celtic 
kings, who fixed their residence at Edinburgh and long main¬ 
tained their independence. 

Edward I, having conquered Wales, took advantage of the 
disturbed conditions which prevailed in Scotland to interfere in 



Coronation Chair, Westminster 
Abbey 

Every English ruler since Edward I has 
been crowned in this oak chair. Under the 
seat is the “Stoneof Scone,” said to have 
been once used by the patriarch Jacob. 
Edward I brought it to London in 1291 a.d., 
as a token of the subjection of Scotland. 








Expansion of England under Edward I 461 


Robert Bruce 
and Ban¬ 
nockburn, 
1314 A.D. 


the affairs of that country. The Scotch offered a brave but futile 
resistance under William Wallace. This heroic leader, who held 
out after most of his countrymen submitted, was Scotland 
finally captured and executed. The English king annexed by 
now annexed Scotland without further opposition. Edward 1 

The Scotch soon found another champion in the person of 
Robert Bruce. Edward I marched against him, but died be¬ 
fore reaching 
the border. 

The weak¬ 
ness of his 

son, Edward II, permitted 
the Scotch, ably led by 
Bruce, to win the signal 
victory of Bannockburn, 
near Stirling Castle. Here 
the Scottish spearmen 
drove the English knight¬ 
hood into ignominious 
flight and freed their 
country from its foreign 
overlords. 

The battle of Bannock¬ 
burn made a nation. A 
few years aft- Scottish 
erwards the independence 

English formally recog¬ 
nized the independence 
of Scotland. The great design of Edward I to unite all the 
peoples of Britain under one government had to be postponed 
for centuries. 1 

No one kingdom ever arose in Ireland out of the numerous 
tribes into which the Celtic-speaking inhabitants were divided. 
The island was not troubled, however, by foreign 
invaders till the coming of the Northmen in the 
ninth century. The English, who first entered Ireland during 

1 In 1603 a.d. James VI of Scotland ascended the throne of England as James I. 



A Queen Eleanor Cross 

After the death of his wife Eleanor, Edward I 
caused a memorial cross to be set up at each place 
where her funeral procession had stopped on its way 
to London. There were originally seven crosses. 
Of the three that still exist, the Geddington cross is 
the best preserved. It consists of three stories and 
stands on a platform of eight steps. 


Ireland 



462 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

the reign of Henry II, did not complete its conquest till the 
seventeenth century. Ireland by its situation could scarcely 
fail to become an appanage of Great Britain, but the dividing 
sea combined with differences in race, language, and religion, 
and with English misgovernment, to prevent anything like a 
genuine union of the conquerors and the conquered. 


173. Unification of France, 987-1328 A.D. 

Nature seems to have intended that France should play a 
leading part in European affairs. The geographical unity of 
Physical the country is obvious. Mountains and seas 
France f orm permanent boundaries, except on the 

northeast, where the frontier is not well defined. The western 
coast of France opens on the Atlantic, now the greatest highway 
of the world’s commerce, while on the southeast France touches 
the Mediterranean, the home of classical civilization. This 
intermediate position between two seas helps to explain why 
French history should form, as it were, a connecting link be¬ 
tween ancient and modern times. 

The greatness of France has been due, also, to the qualities 
of the French people. Many racial elements have contributed 
Racial to the population. The blood of prehistoric 

France tribes, whose monuments and grave mounds are 

scattered over the land, still flows in the veins of Frenchmen. 
At the opening of historic times France was chiefly occupied 
by the Gauls, whom Julius Caesar found there and subdued. 
The Gauls, a Celtic-speaking people, formed in later ages the 
main stock of the French nation, but their language gave place 
to Latin after the Roman conquest. The Gauls were so thor- 
oughly Romanized that they may best be described as Gallo- 
Romans. The Burgundians, Franks, and Northmen afterwards 
added a Teutonic element to the population, as well as some 
infusion of Teutonic laws and customs. 

France, again, became a great nation because of the greatness of 
The Capetian its rulers. Hugh Capet, who assumed the French 
dynasty crown in 987 a.d., was fortunate in his descen¬ 
dants. The Capetian dynasty was long lived, and for more 


Unification of France 


463 


than three centuries son followed father on the throne with¬ 
out a break in the succession. The French sovereigns worked 
steadily to exalt the royal power and to unite the feudal 
states of medieval France into a real nation under a com- 



Royal Domain of 
Hugh Capet, 987 A.D, 


y Note: 

Fief of Orleans was 
' added to Royal Domain at 
accession of Louis XII in 
1498 A.D. 


Added to Royal Domain 
by 1270 A.D. 


Added to Royal Domain 
by 1498 A.D. . 

+ -M-+ Boundary^f the 
Kingdom of France^^^ 


imitl 






ATLANTIC Wm 


imi® 


lilllSSi 


mmmlm 


l NEAN 


Unification of France during the Middle Ages 

mon government. Their success in this task made them, at 
the close of the Middle Ages, the strongest monarchs in Europe. 

Hugh Capet’s duchy — the original France — included only 
a small stretch of inland country centering about Paris on the 


























464 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

Seine and Orleans on the Loire. His election to the kingship 
did not increase his power over the great lords who ruled in 
France and Normandy, Brittany, Aquitaine, Burgundy, and 
its fiefs other parts of the country. They did homage to 

the king for their fiefs and performed the usual feudal services, 
but otherwise regarded themselves as independent in their 
own territories. 

The most considerable additions to the royal domains were 
made by Philip II, called Augustus. Reference has already 
Ph i' 11 been made to his contest with Pope Innocent III 

Augustus, and to his participation in the Third Crusade. 1 

118O-1223 xhe English king, John, was Philip’s vassal for 

Normandy and other provinces in France. A 
quarrel between the two rulers gave Philip an opportunity to 
declare John’s fiefs forfeited by feudal law. Philip then seized 
all the English possessions north of the river Loire. The loss 
of these possessions abroad had the result of separating England 
almost completely from Continental interests; for France it 
meant a great increase in territory and population. Philip 
made Paris his chief residence, and that city henceforth became 
the capital of France. 

During the long reign of Philip’s grandson, Louis IX, rich 
districts to the west of the Rhone were added to the royal do- 
Louis IX the mains - This king, whose Christian virtues led 
Saint, 1226- to his canonization, distinguished himself as an 
administrator. His work of unifying France 
may be compared with that of Henry II in England. He decreed 
that only the king’s money was to circulate in the provinces 
owned directly by himself, thus limiting the right of coinage 
enjoyed by feudal lords. He restricted very greatly the right 
of private war and forbade the use of judicial duels. Louis also 
provided that important cases could be appealed from feudal 
courts to the king’s judges, who sat in Paris and followed in 
their decisions the principles of Roman law. 

The grandson of St. Louis, Philip IV, did much to organize 
a financial system for France. Now that the kingdom had 

1 See pages 422, 432. 


The Hundred Years’ War 


465 


become so large and powerful, the old feudal dues were insuf¬ 
ficient to pay the salaries of the royal officials and support a 
standing army. Philip resorted to new methods of P Tl . 1i . IV the 
raising revenue by imposing various taxes and by Fair, 1285- 
requiring the feudal lords to substitute payments 1314 AD ' 
in money for the military service due from them. Philip also 
called into existence the Estates-General, an assembly in which 
the clergy, the nobles, and representatives from the commons 
(the “ third estate”) met as separate bodies and voted grants of 
money. The Estates-General arose al¬ 
most at the same time as the English 
Parliament, to which it corresponded, 
but it never secured the extensive au¬ 
thority of that body. 


M& 

m 



pi? 


174. The Plundred Years’ War between 
France and England, 1337-1453 A.D. 

The task of unifying France was in¬ 
terrupted by a deplorable war between 
that country and England. Pretext for Royal Arms of 

It continued, including the war Edward III 

periods of truce, for over a centurv. Edward in, having : m 1340 

x A.D. set up a claim to the throne 

The pretext for the war was found in a of France, proceeded to add the 

disputed succession. In 1328 a.d. the 
last of the three sons of Philip IV passed 
away, and the direct line of the house of 
Capet, which had reigned over France 
for more than three hundred years, came 
to an end. The English ruler, Edward III, whose mother was 
the daughter of Philip IV, considered himself the next lineal heir. 
The French nobles were naturally unwilling to receive a foreigner 
as king, and gave the throne, instead, to a nephew of Philip IV. 
This decision was afterwards justified on the ground that, by 
the old law of the Salian Franks, women could neither inherit 
estates nor transmit them to a son . 1 Edward III, however, 

1 Hence the name “Salic law” applied to the rule excluding women from suc¬ 
cession to the French throne. 


French lilies {fleurs-de-lis ) to his 
coat of arms. He also took as 
his motto Dieu et mon Droit 
(“God and my Right”). The 
lilies of France remained in the 
royal arms till 1801 a.d. ; the 
motto is still retained. 







466 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

asserted his claim to the crown of France and prepared by 
force of arms to make his claim good. 

Edward led his troops across the Channel and at Crecy gained 
a complete victory over the knighthood of France. Ten years 
Battles of later the English at Poitiers almost annihilated 

AD* an? 6 anot her French force much superior in numbers. 

Poitiers, 1356 These two battles were mainly won by foot soldiers 
armed with the long bow, in the use of which the 
English excelled. Ordinary iron mail could not resist the heavy. 



Battle or Crecy 

From a manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. 


yard-long arrows, which fell with murderous effect upon the 
bodies of men and horses alike. Henceforth infantry, when 
properly armed and led, were to prove themselves on many a 
bloody field more than a match for feudal cavalry. 

The English, in spite of their victories, could not conquer 
France. The French refused to fight more pitched battles and 
retired to their castles and fortified towns. The war almost 













The Hundred Years’ War 


467 


ceased for many years after the death of Edward III. It began 
again early in the fifteenth century, and the English this time met 
with more success. They gained possession of al- Renewal of 
most all France north of the Loire, except the impor- the war 
tant city of Orleans. Had the English taken it, French resistance 
must have collapsed. That they did not take it was due to one 
of the most remarkable women in history — Joan of Arc . 1 

Joan was a peasant girl, a native of the little village of Dom- 
remy. She early began to see visions of saints and angels and 
to hear mysterious voices. At the time of the The „ Maid 
siege of Orleans the archangel Michael appeared of Orleans,” 
to her, so she declared, and bade her go forth and 1429 A D ‘ 
save France. Joan obeyed, and though barely seventeen years 
of age made her way to the court of the French king. There her 
piety, simplicity, and evident faith in her mission overcame all 
doubts. Clad in armor, girt with an ancient sword, and with 
a white banner borne before her, Joan was allowed to accompany 
an army for the relief of Orleans. She inspired the French with 
such enthusiasm that they quickly compelled the English to 
raise the siege. Joan then led her king to Reims and stood be¬ 
side him at his coronation in the cathedral. 

Though Joan was soon afterwards captured by the English, 
who burned her as a witch, her example nerved the French to 
further resistance. The English gradually lost End of 
ground, and in 1453 a.d., the year of the fall of the war 
Constantinople, abandoned the effort to conquer a land much 
larger than their own. They retained of the French territories 
only the port of Calais and the Channel Islands . 2 

Shortly after the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War the 
two branches of the English royal family became involved in 
desperate struggle for the crown. It was known England ^ 
as the War of the Roses, because the house of York the Hundred 
took as its badge a white rose and the house of Years ' War 
Lancaster, a red rose. The contest lasted till 1485 a.d., when 

1 In French, Jeanne d’Arc. 

2 Calais afterward went back to the French. The Channel Islands are still Eng¬ 
lish possessions. 


468 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

the Lancastrians,conquered, and their leader, Henry Tudor, 
ascended the throne as Henry VII. He married a Yorkish wife, 
thus uniting the two factions, and founded the Tudor dynasty. 
The War of the Roses arrested the progress of English freedom. 
It created a demand for a strong monarchy which could keep 
order and prevent civil strife between the nobles. The Tudors 
met that demand and ruled as absolute sovereigns. 

France also issued from the Hundred Years’ War with an 
absolute government. Strengthened by victory over the 
France after English, the French kings were able to reduce 
the Hundred both the nobility and the commons to impotence. 
Years War ^t the same time they steadily enlarged the royal 
domains, until by the end of the fifteenth century the unifica¬ 
tion of France was almost complete. 

175. Unification of Spain (to 1492 A.D.) 

The geography of the Iberian peninsula has in some ways 
visibly molded its history. The Pyrenees, lofty, forbidding, 
The Iberian and provided with few passes, isolated Spain and 
peninsula Portugal from the rest of Europe far more effec¬ 
tively than the Alps isolated Italy. On the other hand, the 
nearness of the peninsula to Africa brought it into intimate re¬ 
lations with the northern coast of that continent. 

The first settlers in Spain, of whom we know anything, were 
the Iberians. They may have emigrated from northern Africa. 
The Spanish After them came Celtic-speaking tribes, who over¬ 
people ran a large p ar t of the peninsula and appear to 

have mingled with the Iberians, thus forming the mixed people 
known as Celtiberians. Spain in historic times was conquered 
by the Carthaginians, who left few traces of their occupation; 
by the Romans, who thoroughly Romanized the country; by 
• the Visigoths, who founded a Teutonic kingdom; and lastly 
by the Moors, who introduced Arabian culture and the faith 
of Islam . 1 These invaders were not numerous enough greatly 
to affect the population, in which the Celtiberian strain is still 
predominant. 

1 The Arabs and Berbers who settled in Spain are generally called Moors. 



Unification of Spain 469 

The Moors never wholly conquered a fringe of mountain 
territory in the extreme north of Spain. Here a number of 
small Christian states, including Leon, Castile, Christian 
Navarre, and Aragon, came into being. The states of 
Christian state of Portugal also arose in the west Spam 
of the Iberian peninsula. Geographically, Portugal belongs to 
Spain, from which it is separated only by artificial frontiers, but 
the country has usually managed to maintain its independence. 

The Christian states fought steadily to enlarge their bound¬ 
aries at the expense of their Moslem neighbors. The contest 
was blessed by the pope and supported by the R ecovery 0 f 
chivalry of Europe. Periods of victory alternated Spain from 
with periods of defeat, but by the close of the the Moors 
thirteenth century Mohammedan Spain had been reduced to 
the kingdom of Granada at the southern extremity of the 
peninsula. 

Meanwhile, the separate Spanish kingdoms were coming 
together to form a nation. Leon and Castile combined into 

the one kingdom of Castile, so named because its „ . 

. • . , Union of 

frontiers bristled with castles against the Moors. Castile and 

The next important step in the making of Spain 

was the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon to 

Isabella of Castile, leading to the union of these two kingdoms. 

About the same time the Castilian language began to crowd out 

the other Spanish dialects and to become the national speech. 

The new sovereigns of Spain continued their unifying work by 
conquering the Moorish kingdom of Granada. No effort was' 
made by the Ottoman Turks, who had recently Conquest 
captured Constantinople in eastern Europe, to of Granada, 
defend this last stronghold of Islam in western 1492 A D ' 
Europe. The Moors, though thrown upon their own resources, 
made a gallant resistance. At least once Ferdinand wearied 
of the struggle, but Isabella’s determination never wavered. 
Granada finally surrendered, and the silver cross of the cru¬ 
sading army was raised on the towers of the Alhambra. Mos¬ 
lem rule in Spain, after an existence of almost eight centuries, 
now came to an end. 


470 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

Ferdinand and Isabella belong in the front rank of European 
sovereigns. They labored with success to build up an abso- 
Ruieof lute monarch y- Spain had found, as England 

Ferdinand and France had found, that feudalism spelled dis¬ 
and Isabella orc [ erj and that only a strong central government 
could keep the peace, repress crime, and foster industry and 



commerce. Ferdinand and Isabella firmly established the 
supremacy of the crown. By the end of the fifteenth century 
Spain had become a leading European power. Its importance 
in the councils of Europe was soon to be increased by the mar¬ 
riage of a daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella to the heir of the 
Austrian house of Hapsburg. 

176. Austria and the Swiss Confederation, 
1273-1499 A.D. 

The name Austria — in German Oesterreich — means simply 
the eastern part of any kingdom. It came to be applied par- 
















































Austria and Swiss Confederacy 471 

ticularly to the territory on the Danube east of Bavaria, which 
Otto the Great had formed into a mark or border province 
for defense against the Magyars . 1 This mark, Ri se 0 f 
soon to be known as Austria, gained an important Austna 
place among German states. The frontiers were pushed down 
the Danube valley, and the capital was finally located at Vienna. 
Frederick Barbarossa raised Austria to the rank of a duchy. 



Growth of the Hapsburg Possessions 


Hapsburg Lands 1273 A.D. 
Territory Conquered from 

Bohemia 1282 A.D. 

Acquisitions 
1282.-1526 A.D. 


Rudolf of Hapsburg, after becoming Holy Roman Emperor, 
made it a Hapsburg possession . 2 

The Hapsburgs had great success in building up the Austrian 
state. Their dominions included a large part of eastern Ger¬ 
many, reaching from beyond the Danube south- Growthof 
ward to the Adriatic. Early in the sixteenth Austria 
century they secured Bohemia, a Slavic land ^^urgs 
thrust like a wedge into German territory, as well 
as part of the Magyar land of Hungary. The possession of 
these two kingdoms gave Austria its special character of a state 


1 See page 316. 


1 See page 422. 





472 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

formed by the union under one ruler of several wholly distinct 
nations. 

Swiss history is closely bound up with that of Austria. The 
little mountain communities of Schwyz, 1 Uri, and Unterwalden, 
Switzerland on the shores of beautiful Lake Lucerne, were 
and Austria possessions of the counts of Hapsburg. These 
three “Forest Cantons” formed a confederation for resistance 
to their Hapsburg overlords. Additional cantons joined the 



league, which now entered upon a long struggle, dear to all 
lovers of liberty, against Austrian rule. Nowhere did the old 
methods of feudal warfare break down more conspicuously than 
in the battles gained by Swiss pikemen over the haughty knights 
of Austria. The struggle closed at the end of the fifteenth 
century, when Switzerland became practically a free state. 2 . 

Little Switzerland, lying in the heart of the Alps and sur¬ 
rounded by powerful neighbors, is one of the most interesting 
states in Europe. The twenty-two communities, or cantons, 

1 From Schwyz comes the name Switzerland. 

2 The independence of the country was not formally recognized till 1648 a.d. 















Expansion of Germany 


473 


which make up the Swiss Confederation, differ among them¬ 
selves in language, religion (Roman Catholic or Protestant), and 
customs, according to their nearness to Germany, The Swiss 
France, or Italy. Nevertheless the Swiss form Confedera- 
a patriotic and united nation. It is remarkable tlon 
that a people whose chief bond of union was common hostility 
to the Austrian Hapsburgs, should have established a federal 
government so strong and enduring. 

177. Expansion of Germany 

An examination of the map shows how deficient Germany is 
in good natural boundaries. The valley of the Danube affords 
an easy road to the southeast, a road which the Lines of 
early rulers of Austria followed as far as Vienna German 
and the Hungarian frontier. Eastward along ex P ansion 
the Baltic no break occurs in the great plain stretching from 
the North Sea to the Ural Mountains. It was in this direction 
that German conquests and colonization during the Middle 
Ages laid the foundation of modern Prussia. 

The Germans, in descending upon the Roman Empire, had 
abandoned much of their former territories to the Slavs. In 
the reign of Charlemagne nearly all the region The German 
between the Elbe and the Vistula belonged to and the Slav 
Slavic tribes. Several centuries of hard fighting were required 
to win it back for Germany. The Slavs were heathen and 
barbarous, so that warfare with them seemed to be a kind of 
crusade. German expansion eastward was also a business ven¬ 
ture, due to the need for free land. The hope of gain thus com¬ 
bined with religious zeal and the spirit of adventure to stimulate 
emigration into the “Great East” of the Middle Ages. 

German expansion began early in the tenth century, when 
Henry the Fowler invaded Brandenburg between the Elbe 
and the Oder. Much of the territory between Branden burg 
the Oder and the Vistula, including Pomerania on and 
the southern coast of the Baltic, subsequently Pomeraiua 
came under German control. The Slavic inhabitants were 


474 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

exterminated or reduced to slavery. Their place was taken 
by thousands of German colonists, who introduced Christianity, 
built churches and monasteries, cleared the woods, drained the 



marshes, and founded many cities destined to become centers 
of German trade and culture. 

Between the Vistula and the Niemen lay the lands of the 
Prussians, a non-Teutonic people closely related to the Slavs. 
The conquest and conversion of the Prussians was accom- 























475 


Expansion of Germany 

plished by the famous order of Teutonic Knights. It had been 
founded in Palestine as a military-religious order, at the time 
of the Third Crusade. The decline of the crusad- Prussia and 
ing movement left the knights with no duties to per- the Teutonic 
form, and so they transferred their activities to the 0rder 
Prussian frontier, where there was still a chance to engage in a 
holy war. The Teutonic Order flourished throughout the thir¬ 
teenth and fourteenth centuries, until its grand master ruled over 
the entire Baltic coast from the Vistula to the Gulf of Finland. 
The knights later had to relinquish much of this region to the 
Slavs, but they sowed there the seeds of civilization. 

Germany at the close of the Middle Ages was not a united, 
intensely national state, such as had been established in England, 
France, and Spain. It had split into hundreds Political 
of principalities, none large, some extremely small, Germany 
and all practically independent of the feeble German kings. 
This weakness of the central power condemned Germany to a 
minor part in the affairs of Europe, as late as the nineteenth 
century. Germany, however, found some compensation for 
political backwardness in the splendid city life which it developed 
during the later Middle Ages. The German cities, together 
with those of Italy and other European lands, now call for 
our attention. 


Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate (a) William the Conqueror’s French dominions 
and ( b ) additional dominions of the Plantagenet kings in France. 2. Prepare a 
chart showing the leading rulers mentioned in this chapter. Arrange your material 
in parallel col um ns with dates, one column for England, one for France, and one for 
the other European countries. 3. Locate the following places: Crecy; Calais; 
Poitiers; Stirling; Edinburgh; Orleans; and Granada. 4. What happened in 
987 A.D.? in 1066 A.D.? in 1215 a.d.? in 1295 a.d.? in 1346 a.d.? in 1453 a.d.? 
in 1485 a.d. ? 5. Distinguish between a nation, a government, and a state. 6. Are 

unity of race, a common language, a common religion, and geographical unity of 
themselves sufficient to make a nation? May a nation arise where these bonds are 
lacking? 7. “The thirteenth century gave Europe the nations as we now know 
them.” Comment on this statement. 8. Account for the rise of national feeling 
in France, Spain, Scotland, and Switzerland. 9. “ Good government in the Middle 
Ages was only another name for a public-spirited and powerful monarchy. Com¬ 
ment on this statement. 10. What advantages has trial by jury over the older 
forms of trial, such as oaths, ordeals, and the judicial duel? n. Explain the differ- 


476 European Nations during the Later Middle Ages 

ence between a grand jury and a trial, or petty jury. 12. Compare the extent of 
territory in which Roman law now prevails with that which follows the Common 
law. 13. Why was the Parliament of 1295 a.d. named the “Model Parliament”? 
14. Why has England been called “the mother of parliaments”? 15. Distinguish 
between England and Great Britain. Between Great Britain and the United King¬ 
dom. 16. What were the Roman names of England, Scotland, and Ireland? 
17. “Islands seem dedicated by nature to freedom.” How does the history of Ire¬ 
land illustrate this statement? 18. Trace on the map the main water routes in 
France between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. 19. Show that Paris occu¬ 
pies an exceptionally good location for a capital city. 20. What French kings did 
most to form the French nation? 21. Why have queens never ruled in France? 
22. Compare the Hundred Years’ War and the Peloponnesian War as needless con¬ 
flicts. 23. Compare Joan of Arc’s visions with those of Mohammed. 24. “Be¬ 
yond the Pyrenees begins Africa.” What does this statement mean ? 25. Why was 

Spain inconspicuous in European politics before the opening of the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury? 26. Look up in an encyclopedia the story of William Tell and prepare an 
oral report upon it. 27. W T hy was the German system of elective rulers politically 
less advantageous than the settled hereditary succession which prevailed in England 
and France? 



Spinning, Carding, and Weaving in the Middle Ages 

After a 15th century manuscript. A queen presides at the loom, while one of her 
companions is occupied with cards or combs, and the other with a distaff. 












































CHAPTER XXII 

EUROPEAN CITIES DURING THE LATER MIDDLE AGES 


178. Growth of the Cities 

Civilization has always had its home in the city. Nothing 
marks more strongly the backwardness of the early Middle 
Ages than the absence of city life throughout The civic 
western Europe. The great economic feature of revival 
the later Middle Ages was the civic revival. Developing trade, 
commerce, and manufactures led to the increase, of wealth, the 
growth of markets, and the substitution of money payments 
for those in produce or services. The result was the growth 
of the cities. 

A number of medieval cities stood on the sites, and even within 
the walls, of Roman municipalities. Particularly in Italy, 
southern France, and Spain, and also in the Rhine Cities 
and Danube regions, it seems that some ancient Roman 
municipia had never been entirely destroyed dur- ongin 
ing the Teutonic invasions. They preserved their Roman 
names, their streets, aqueducts, amphitheaters, and churches, 
and possibly vestiges of their Roman institutions. Among 
them were such important centers as Milan, Florence, Venice, 
Lyons, Marseilles, Paris, Vienna, Cologne, London, and York. 

Many medieval cities were new foundations. Some began 
as small communities that increased in size because of excep¬ 
tional advantages of situation. A place where origin of 
a river could be forded, where two roads met, or other cities 
where-a good harbor existed, would naturally become the resort 
of traders. Some, again, started as fortresses, behind whose 
ramparts the peasants took refuge when danger threatened. 
A third group of cities developed from villages on the manors. 
A thriving settlement was pretty sure to arise near a monastery 

477 



Carcassonne 

The fortifications of Carcassonne, an ancient city of southwestern France, are probably unique in Europe for completeness and strength They consist of 
a double line of ramparts, protected by towers and pierced by only two gates. A part of the fortifications is attributed to the Visigoths in the sixth centurv 
the remainder, including the castle, was raised during the Middle Ages (eleventh to thirteenth centuries). y ’ 






























































































































Growth of the Cities 


479 

or castle, which offered both protection and employment to 
the common people. 

The city at first formed part of the feudal system. It arose 
upon the territory of a feudal lord and owed obedience to him. 
The citizens ranked not much higher than serfs, The city and 
though they were traders and artisans instead of feudalism 
farmers. They enjoyed no political rights, for their lord col¬ 
lected the taxes, appointed officials, kept order, and punished 
offenders. In short, the city was not free. As its inhabitants 
increased in number and wealth, they refused to submit to op¬ 
pression. They sometimes won their freedom by hard fight¬ 
ing; more often they purchased it, perhaps from some noble 
who needed money to go on a crusade. In France, England, 
and Spain, where the royal power was strong, the cities obtained 
exemption from their feudal burdens, but did not become 
entirely self-governing. In Germany and Italy, on the other 
hand, the weakness of the central government permitted many 
cities to secure complete independence. They became true 
republics, like the old Greek city-states. 

The contract which the citizens extorted from their lord was 
known as a charter. It specified what taxes they should be 
required to pay and usually granted to them ^ harters 
various privileges, such as those of holding assem¬ 
blies, electing magistrates, and raising militia for local defense. 

The free city had no room for either slaves or serfs. All 
servile conditions ceased inside its walls. The rule prevailed 
that any one who had lived in a city for the term of civic 
a year and a day could no longer be claimed by a freedom 
lord as his serf. This rule found expression in the famous 
saying: “Town air renders free.” 

The freedom of the cities naturally attracted many immi¬ 
grants to them. There came into existence a middle class of 
city people, between the nobles and clergy on the Rise of 
one side and the peasants on the other side- the^third 
what the French call the bourgeoisie} As we have 
learned, the kings of England and France soon began to sum- 

1 From French bourg, “town.” 


480 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

mon representatives of this middle class to sit in assemblies as 
the “third estate,” by the side of the nobles and the clergy, who 
formed the first two estates. The middle class, or bourgeoisie, 
distinguished as it was for wealth, intelligence, and enterprise, 
henceforth exerted an ever-greater influence on European affairs. 

179. City Life 

The visitor approaching a medieval city through miles of 
open fields saw it clear in the sunlight, unobscured by coal 
A city from smoke. It looked like a fortress from without, 
without with walls, towers, gateways, drawbridges, and 
moat. Beyond the fortifications he would see, huddled together 
against the sky, the spires of the churches and the cathedral, 
the roofs of the larger houses, and the dark, frowning mass of 
the castle. The general impression was one of wealth and 
strength and beauty. 

The visitor would not find things so attractive within the walls. 
The streets were narrow, crooked, and ill-paved, dark during 
A city from the day because of the overhanging houses, and 
without illumination at night. There were no 
open spaces or parks except a small market place. The whole 
city was cramped by its walls, which shut out light, air, and 
view, and prevented expansion into the neighboring country. 
Medieval London, for instance, covered an area of less than 
one square mile. 

A city in the Middle Ages lacked all sanitary arrangements. 
The only water supply came from polluted streams and wells. 
Unsanitary Sewers and sidewalks were quite unknown. People 
conditions piled up their refuse in the backyard or flung it into 
the street, to be devoured by the dogs and pigs that served 
as scavengers. The holes in the pavement collected all manner 
of filth, and the unpaved lanes, in wet weather, became deep pits 
of mud. The living were crowded together in many-storied 
houses, airless and gloomy; the dead were buried close at hand 
in crowded churchyards. Such unsanitary conditions must 
have been responsible for much of the sickness that was preva¬ 
lent. The high death rate could only be offset by a birth rate 


City Life 481 

correspondingly high, and by the constant influx of country 
people. 

Numerous petty regulations restricted the private life of 
the townspeople. The municipal authorities sometimes de¬ 
cided how many guests might be invited to civic 
weddings, how much might be spent on wedding regulations 
presents, what different garments might be owned and worn by 
a citizen, and even the number of trees that might be planted 



House oe Jacques Cceur, Bourges 

Built in the latter part of the fifteenth century by a very wealthy French merchant. 
It is an admirable example of Gothic domestic architecture. 


in his garden. Each citizen had to serve his turn as watchman 
on the walls or in the streets at night. When the great bell in 
the belfry rang the “curfew,” 1 at eight or nine o’clock, this was 
the signal for every one to extinguish lights and fires and go 
to bed. It was a useful precaution, since conflagrations were 
common enough in the densely packed wooden houses. The 
1 French couvre feu, “cover fire.” 





































482 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

municipal government spent little or nothing on police protec¬ 
tion, so that street brawls, and even robbery and murder, were 
not infrequent. 

The inhabitants of the city took a just pride in their public 
buildings. The market place, where traders assembled, often 

contained a beautiful 
cross and sometimes a 

Public market 

buildings hall to 

shelter goods from the 
weather. Not far 
away rose the city 
hall, 1 for the transac¬ 
tion of public business 
and the holding of 
civic feasts. The hall 
might be crowned by 
a high belfry with an 
alarm bell to summon 
citizens to mass meet¬ 
ing. There were also 
a number of churches 
and abbeys and, if the 
city was the capital of a bishop’s diocese, an imposing cathedral. 

The small size of medieval cities — few included as many as 
ten thousand inhabitants — simplified the problem of governing 
Municipal them. The leading merchants usually formed a 
government council presided over by a head magistrate, the 
burgomaster 2 or mayor, 3 who was assisted by aldermen. 4 In 
some places the guilds chose the officials and managed civic 
affairs. These associations had many functions and held a most 
important place in city life. 

1 In French hdtel de ville; in German Rathhaus. 

2 German bur germeister, from burg, “castle.” 

3 French maire, from Latin major, “greater.” 

4 Anglo-Saxon ealdorman {eald means “old”). 



Title-page of a tract published in 1616 a.d. It was part 
of the duties of a bellman, or night-watchman, to call out 
the hours, the state of the weather, and other information 
as he passed by. 




















































Civic Industry: the Guilds 


483 


180. Civic Industry: the Guilds 

The Anglo-Saxon word “ guild ” meant a club or society whose 
members made contributions for some common purpose. This 
form of association is very old. Some of the Formation 
guilds in imperial Rome had been established in of guilds 
the age of the kings, while not a few of those which flourish to¬ 
day in China and India were founded before the Christian era. 
Guilds existed in Continental Europe as early as the time of 
Charlemagne, but they did not become prominent until after 
the crusades. 

A guild of merchants grew up when those who bought and 
sold goods in any place united to protect their own interests. 
The membership included many artisans, as well Merchant 
as professional traders, for in medieval times a guilds 
man often sold in the front room of his shop the goods which he 
made in the back rooms. He was often both shopkeeper and 
workman in one. 

The chief duty of a merchant guild was to preserve to its 
own members the monopoly of trade within a town. Strangers 
and non-guildsmen could not buy or sell there Commercial 
except under the conditions imposed by the guild, monopoly 
They must pay the town tolls, confine their dealings to guilds- 
men, and as a rule sell only at wholesale. They were forbidden 
to purchase wares which the townspeople wanted for them¬ 
selves or to set up shops for retail trade. They enjoyed more 
freedom at fairs, which were intended to attract outsiders. 

The traders and artisans engaged in particular occupations 
subsequently formed associations of their own. These were 
the craft guilds, composed of weavers, shoemakers, craft 
bakers, tailors, carpenters, and other workmen, guilds 
The names of the various occupations came to be used as the 
surnames of those engaged in them, so that to-day we have 
such common family names as Smith, Cooper, Fuller, Potter, 
Chandler, and many others. The number of craft guilds in an 
important city might be very large. London and Paris at one 
time each had more than one hundred, and Cologne in Germany 


484 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

had as many as eighty. The members of a particular guild 
usually lived in the same street or quarter of the city, not only 
for companionship but also for better supervision of their labor. 

Just as the merchant guild regulated town trade, so the craft 
guilds had charge of town industry. No one could engage in 

any craft without becoming a 
member of the guild which con- 
industrial trolled it and sub¬ 
monopoly mitting to the 

guild regulations. A man’s 
hours of labor and the prices 
at which he sold his goods were 
fixed for him by the guild. He 
might not work elsewhere than 
in his shop, because of the diffi¬ 
culty of supervising him, nor 
might he work by artificial 
light, lest he turn out badly 
finished goods. Everything 
made by him was carefully in¬ 
spected to see if it contained 
shoddy materials or showed 
poor workmanship. Failure to 
meet the test meant a heavy 
fine or perhaps expulsion from 
the guild. The industrial mo¬ 
nopoly possessed by the craft 
guild thus gave some protection to both producer and consumer. 

Full membership in a guild was reached only by degrees. A 
boy started as an apprentice, that is, a learner. He paid a 
Organization sum of money to his master and agreed to serve 
Of craft guilds him f or a fixed per iod, usually seven years. The 
master, in turn, promised to provide the apprentice with food, 
lodging, and clothing, and to teach him all the secrets of the 
craft. The apprentice had to pass an examination by the guild 
at the end of his term of service. If he was found fit, he then 
became a journeyman and worked for daily wages. As soon 



House or the Butchers’ Guild, 
Hildesheim, Germany 


Hildesheim, near Hanover, is perhaps the 
richest of all German towns in fine wooden¬ 
framed houses. The house of the Butchers’ 
Guild has been recently restored, with all its 
original coloring carefully reproduced. 
















Trade and Commerce 


485 

as he had saved enough money, he might set up as a master in 
his own shop. A master was at once workman and employer, 
laborer and capitalist. 

The guilds had their charitable and religious aspects. Each 
one raised large benefit funds for the relief of members or their 
widows and orphans. Each one had its private Activities 
altar in the cathedral, or often its own chapel, of craft 
where masses were said for the repose of the souls gullds 
of deceased members, and where on the day of its patron saint 
religious services were held. The guild was also a social organi¬ 
zation, with frequent meetings for a feast in its hall or in some 
inn. The guilds in some cities entertained the people with an 
annual play or procession. It is clear that the members of a 
medieval craft guild had common interests and shared a common 
life. 

As the craft guilds prospered and increased in wealth, they 
tended to become exclusive organizations. Membership fees 
were raised so high that few could afford to pay D issolut j on 
them, while the number of apprentices that a of craft 
master might take was strictly limited. It also gullds 
became increasingly difficult for journeymen to rise to the sta¬ 
tion of masters; they often remained wage-earners for life. 
The mass of workmen could no longer participate in the bene¬ 
fits of the guild system. In the eighteenth century most of 
the guilds lost their monopoly of industry, and in the nineteenth 
century they gave way to trade unions. 

181. Trade and Commerce 

Nearly every town of any consequence had a weekly or semi¬ 
weekly market, which was held in the market place or in the 

churchyard. Outsiders who brought cattle and 

t Markets 

farm produce for sale in the market were required 
to pay tolls, either to the town authorities or sometimes to a 
neighboring nobleman. These market dues survive in the 
“octroi” collected at the gates of some European cities. 

People in the Middle Ages did not believe in unrestricted 
competition. It was thought wrong for any one to purchase 


486 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 


“ Just price 


Fairs 


goods outside of the regular market (“forestalling”) or to pur¬ 
chase them in larger quantities than necessary (“engrossing”). 

A man ought not to charge for a thing more than 
it was worth, or to buy a thing cheap and sell it 
dear. The idea prevailed that goods should be sold at their 
“just price,” which was not determined by supply and demand 
but by an estimate of the cost of the materials and the labor 
that went into their manufacture. Laws were often passed 
fixing this “just price.” 

Many towns also held fairs once or twice a year. They were 
especially necessary in medieval Europe, because merchants 
did not keep large quantities or many kinds of 
goods on their shelves, nor could intending pur¬ 
chasers afford to travel far in search of what they wanted. The 
more important English fairs included those at Stourbridge 
near Cambridge, Winchester, St. Ives, and Boston. Fairs were 
numerous on the Continent, and in some places, such as Leip¬ 
zig in Germany and Nijni-Novgorod in Russia, they are still 
kept up. A fair gave opportunity for the sale of commodities 
brought from the most distant regions. Stourbridge Fair, for 
instance, attracted Venetians and Genoese with silk, pepper, 
and spices of the East, Flemings with fine cloths and linens, 
Spaniards with iron and wine, Norwegians with tar and pitch 
from their forests, and Baltic merchants with furs, amber, and 
salted fish. 

Commerce in western Europe had almost disappeared as a 
result of the Teutonic invasions and the establishment of feu- 
_ , dalism. What little commercial intercourse there 

Decline of 

commerce was encountered many obstacles. A merchant 

“t} 1 ® who went by land from country to country might 

Middle Ages A , '. . . . , 

expect to find bad roads, few bridges, and poor 

inns. Goods were transported on pack-horses instead of in 
wagons. Highway robbery was so common that travelers al¬ 
ways carried arms and united in bands for better protection. 
The feudal lords, often themselves not much more than high¬ 
waymen, demanded tolls at every bridge and ford and on every 
road. If the merchant proceeded by water, he must face, in 


Trade and Commerce 


487 


addition to the ordinary hazards of wind and wave, the danger 
from the ill-lighted coasts and from attacks by pirates. No 



Trade Routes between Northern' and Southern Europe 

IN THE 13TH AND 14TH CENTURIES 


wonder commerce languished in the early Middle Ages and 
for a long time lay chiefly in the hands of Byzantines and Arabs. 
Even during the dark centuries that followed the end of the 































488 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

Roman Empire, some trade with the Orient had been carried 
on by the cities of Italy and southern France. The crusades, 
Commercial which brought East and West face to face, greatly 
revival after increased this trade. The Mediterranean lands first 
the crusades felt t h e stimulating effects of intercourse with the 
Orient, but before long the commercial revival extended to the 
rest of Europe. 

Before the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope the spices, 
drugs, incense, carpets, tapestries, porcelains, and gems of 
Asiatic trade India, China, and the East Indies reached the 
routes West by three main routes. All had been used in 

ancient times. The central and most important route led up 
the Persian Gulf and Tigris River to Bagdad, from which city 
goods went by caravan to Antioch or Damascus. The southern 
route reached Cairo and Alexandria by way of the Red Sea 
and the Nile. The northern route, entirely overland, led to 
ports on the Black Sea and thence to Constantinople. -It trav¬ 
ersed high mountain passes and long stretches of desert, and 
could profitably be used only for the transport of valuable 
articles small in bulk. The conquests of the Ottoman Turks 
greatly interfered with the use of this route by Christians after 
the middle of the fifteenth century. 

Oriental goods, upon reaching the Mediterranean, could be 
transported by water to northern Europe. Every year the 
European Venetians sent a fleet loaded with eastern products 
trade routes to Bruges in Flanders, a city which was the most 
important depot of trade with Germany, England, and Scandi¬ 
navia. Bruges also formed the terminus of the main overland 
route leading from Venice over the Alps and down the Rhine. 
Many other commercial highways also linked the Mediterranean 
with the North Sea and the Baltic. 

.. 182. Money and Banking 

We have seen that business in the Middle Ages was chiefly of 
a retail character and was conducted in markets and fairs. 
One reason for the small scale of business enterprise is found 
in the inadequate supply of money. From the beginning of 


Money and Banking 489 

the Christian era to the twelfth century there seems to have 
been a steady decrease in the amount of specie in circulation, 
partly because so much moved to the Orient in pay- Lack of 
ment for luxuries, and partly because the few mines money 
in western Europe went out of use during the period of the in¬ 
vasions. The scarcity of money helped directly to build up the 
feudal system, since salaries, wages, and rents could be paid 
only in personal services or in produce. The money supply 
increased during the latter part of the Middle Ages, but it did 
not become sufficient for the needs of business till the discovery 
of the New World enabled the Spaniards to tap the wealth of 
the silver mines in Mexico and Peru. 

Medieval currency was not only small in amount but was also 
faulty in character. Many great nobles enjoyed the privilege 
of keeping a mint and issuing coins. Since this Faults of 
feudal money passed at its full value only in the medieval 
locality where it was minted, a merchant had to currenc y 
be constantly changing his money, as he went from one fief 
to another. Kings and nobles for their own profit would 
often debase the currency by putting silver into the gold 
coins and copper into the silver coins. Every debasement, 
as it left the coins with less pure metal, lowered their pur¬ 
chasing power and so raised prices unexpectedly. Even in 
countries like England, where debasement was exceptional, 
much counterfeit money circulated, to the constant impediment 
of trade. 

The prejudice against “ usury,” as any lending of money at 
interest was called, made another hindrance to business enter¬ 
prise. It seemed wrong for a person to receive “ usury ” 
interest, since he lost nothing by the loan of his laws 
money. Numerous Church laws condemned the receipt of 
interest as unchristian. If, however, the lender could show that 
he had suffered any loss, or had been prevented from making 
any gain, through not having his money, he might charge some¬ 
thing for its use. People in time began to distinguish between 
interest moderate in amount and an excessive charge for the 
use of money. The latter alone was henceforth prohibited as 


490 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

usurious. Most modern states still have usury laws which fix 
the legal rate of interest. 

The business of money lending, denied to Christians, fell into 
the hands of the Jews. In nearly all European countries popu¬ 
lar prejudice forbade the Jews to engage in agricul- 
as 1 money ture, while the guild regulations barred them from 

lenders industry. They turned to trade and finance for 

a livelihood and became the chief capitalists of medieval times. 
But the law gave the Jews no protection, and kings and nobles 
constantly extorted large sums from them. The persecutions 
of the Jews date from the era of the crusades, when it was as 
easy to excite fanatical hatred against them as against the 
Moslems. Edward I drove the Jews from England and Ferdi¬ 
nand and Isabella expelled them from Spain. 

The Jews were least persecuted in the commercial cities of 
northern Italy. Florence, Genoa, and Venice in the thirteenth 
Italian century were the money centers of Europe. The 

banking banking companies in these cities received deposits 

and then loaned the money to foreign governments and great 
nobles. It was the Florentine bankers, for instance, who pro¬ 
vided the English king, Edward III, with the funds to carry 
on his wars against France. The Italian banking houses had 
branches in the principal cities of Europe. It became possible, 
therefore, to introduce the use of bills of exchange as a means 
of balancing debts between countries, without the necessity of 
sending the actual money. This system of international credit 
was doubly important at a time when so many risks attended 
the transportation of the precious metals. Another Florentine 
invention was bookkeeping by double-entry. 


183. Italian Cities 

The cities of northern Italy owed their prosperity to the com¬ 
merce with the Orient. It was this which gave them the means 
The city and the strength to keep up a long struggle for 

republics freedom against the German emperors. The end 

of the struggle, at the middle of the thirteenth century, saw all 
North Italy divided into the dominions of various independent 


Italian Cities 


49 1 

cities. Among them were Milan, Pisa, Florence, Genoa, and 
Venice. 

Milan, a city of Roman origin, lay in the fertile valley of the 
Po, at a point where the trade routes through several Alpine 
passes converged. Milan early rose to importance, Milan 
and it still remains the commercial metropolis of 


Italy. Manufacturing also flourished there. Though the 
Milanese were able to throw off the imperial authority, their 



Baptistery, Cathedral, and “Leaning Tower” or Pisa 


These three buildings in the piazza of Pisa form one of the most interesting architectural 
groups in Italy. The baptistery, completed in 1278 a.d., is a circular structure, 100 feet in 
diameter and covered with a high dome. The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 a.d. The 
finest part of the building is the west front with its four open arcades. The campanile, or 
bell tower, reaches a height of 179 feet. Owing to the sinking of the foundations, it leans 
from the perpendicular to a striking extent (now about i6§ feet). 


government fell into the hands of the local nobles, who ruled as 
despots. Almost all the Italian cities, except Venice, lost their 
freedom in this manner. 

Pisa, like Milan, was an old Roman city which profited by the 
disorders of the barbarian invasions to assert its independence. 
The situation of Pisa on the Arno River, seven 

PlS£L 

miles from the sea, made it a maritime state, and 
the Pisan navy gained distinction in warfare against the Mos¬ 
lems in the Mediterranean. The Pisans joined in the First 







Duomo and Campanile of Florence 

The cathedral (Duomo) of Florence, though begun in 1298, was not completed until the 
fifteenth century, when the famous architect Brunelleschi added the huge dome, 300 feet high. 
Close by the Duomo is the campanile or bell tower, adorned with bas-reliefs and colored 
marbles. 


492 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 


Crusade and showed their valor at the capture of Jerusalem. 
They profited greatly by the crusading movement and soon pos¬ 
sessed banks, warehouses, and trading privileges in every eastern 
port. Pisa had bitter rivals in Florence and Genoa, and the 
conflicts with these two cities finally brought about the destruc¬ 
tion of its power. 


Florence, Pisa s neighbor on the Arno, was renowned for 
manufactures. The fine wool, silk cloths, golden brocades, 
Florence jewelry, and metal work of Florence were imported 
into all European countries. The craft guilds 
were very strong there, and even the neighboring nobles, who 
wished to become citizens, had first to enroll themselves in some 
guild. It was from banking, however, that Florence gained 
most wealth. The Florentines combined with their commercial 
spirit a remarkable taste for art and literature. Their city, 







Italian Cities 


493 ^ 

whose population never exceeded seventy thousand, gave birth 
to some of the most illustrious poets, prose writers, architects, 
sculptors, and painters of medieval and early modern times. 

Genoa, located on the gulf of the same name, possessed a safe 
and spacious harbor. The city carried on a flourishing trade 
on both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. 

After the fall of the Latin Empire of Constanti¬ 
nople the Genoese almost monopolized Oriental commerce 
along the Black Sea route. The closing of this route by the 
Ottoman Turks was a heavy blow to their prosperity, which 
also suffered from the active competition of Venice. 

Venice, almost alone among Italian cities, was not of Roman 
origin. Its beginning is traced back to the period of barbarian 
inroads, when fugitives from the mainland sought situation of 
a new home on the islands at the head of the Vemce 
Adriatic. These islands, which lie about five miles from the 
coast, are protected from the outer sea by a long sand bar. They 
are little more than mud-banks, barely rising above the shallow 
water of the lagoons. The oozy soil afforded no support for 
buildings, except when strengthened by piles; there was scarcely 
any land fit for farming or cattle-raising; and the only drink¬ 
ing water had to be stored from the rainfall. Yet on this 
unpromising site arose one of the most splendid of European 
cities. 

The early inhabitants of Venice got their living from the sale 
of sea salt and fish, two commodities for which a constant de¬ 
mand existed in the Middle Ages. Large quan- Venetian 
' tides of salt were needed for preserving meat in commerce 
the winter months, while fish was eaten by all Christians on 
the numerous fast days and in Lent. The Venetians exchanged 
these commodities for the productions of the mainland and so 
built up a thriving trade. The crusades vastly increased the 
wealth of Venice, for she provided the ships in which troops and 
supplies went to the Holy Land and she secured the largest 
share of the new eastern trade. Venice thus became the great 
emporium of the Mediterranean. 

Venice also used the crusading movement for her political 


494 


Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

advantage. The capture of Constantinople in the Fourth Cru¬ 
sade extended Venetian control over the Peloponnesus, 1 Crete, 
Venetian Rhodes, Cyprus, and many smaller islands in the 
possessions eastern Mediterranean. Venice also had posses¬ 
sions upon the Italian mainland and along the Adriatic 2 coast. 

The visitor to modern Venice can still gain a good im¬ 
pression of what the city must have looked like in the four- 
Venice teenth century, when ships of every nation crowded 

described its q ua ys and strangers of every country thronged 
its squares or sped in light gondolas over the canals which take 
the place of streets. The main highway is the Grand Canal, 
nearly two miles long and lined with palaces and churches. The 
Grand Canal leads to St. Mark’s Cathedral, brilliant with 
mosaic pictures, the Campanile, or bell tower, and the Doge’s 
Palace. The “Bridge of Sighs” connects the ducal palace with 
the state prisons. The Rialto in the business heart of Venice 
is another famous bridge. But these are only a few of the his¬ 
toric and beautiful buildings of the island city. 


Cities of 
southern and 
central 
Germany 


184. German Cities: the Hanseatic League 

The important trade routes from Venice and Genoa through 
the Alpine passes into the valleys of the Rhine and Danube were 
responsible for the prosperity of many fine cities 
in southern and central Germany. Among them 
were Augsburg, which rivaled Florence as a finan¬ 
cial center, Nuremberg, famous for artistic metal 
work, Ulm, Strasbourg, and Cologne. The feeble rule of the 
German kings compelled the cities to form several confederacies 
for the purpose of resisting the extortionate tolls and downright 
robberies of feudal lords. 

It was the Baltic commerce which brought the cities of north- 
Cities of ern Germany into a firm union. The Baltic 

Germany re g lon provided large quantities of dried and salted 

fish, especially herring, wax candles for church 
services, skins, tallow, and lumber. Furs were also in great 

1 Known in the Middle Ages as the Morea. 

2 For the Venetian possessions in 1453 a.d. see the map, page 447. 


The famous Campanile or bell tower of St. Mark’s Cathedral collapsed in 1902 a . d . A new tower, faithfully copying the old monument, was 
completed nine years later. The Doge’s Palace, a magnificent structure of brick and marble, is especially remarkable for the graceful arched colonnades 
forming the two lower stories. The blank walls of the upper story are broken by a few large and richly-ornamented windows. 












































German Cities: the Hanseatic League 495 



demand. Every one wore them during the winter, on account 
of the poorly heated houses. The German cities which shared 
in this commerce early formed the 
celebrated Hanseatic 1 League for pro¬ 
tection against pirates and feudal 
lords. 

The league seems to have begun 
with an alliance of Hamburg and 
Liibeck to safeguard the . 

° Membership 

traffic on the Elbe. The of the 

growth of the league was Hanseatic 
• t , , League 

rapid. At the period of 
its greatest power, there were up¬ 
wards of eighty Hanseatic cities along 
the Baltic coast and in the inland 
districts of northern Germany. 

The commercial importance of the 
league extended far beyond the bor¬ 
ders of Germany. Its trading posts, 

or “factories,” at Bergen in Norway and Novgorod in Russia 
controlled the export trade of those two countries. Similar 
establishments existed at London, on the Thames Hanseatic 
just above London Bridge, and at Bruges in “ factories ” 
Flanders. Each factory served as a fortress where merchants 
could be safe from attack, as a storehouse for goods, and as a 
general market. 

The Hanseatic League ruled over the Baltic Sea very much 
as Venice ruled over the Adriatic. In spite of its monopolistic 
tendencies, so opposed to the spirit of free inter- Influence 
course between nations, the league did much use- of the 
ful work by suppressing piracy and by encouraging League* 0 
the art of navigation. The Hanseatic merchants 
were also pioneers in the half-barbarous lands of northern and 
eastern Europe, where they founded towns, fostered industry, 
and introduced comforts and luxuries previously unknown. 

The league finally lost its monopoly of the Baltic trade. 

1 From the old German hansa, a “confederacy.” 


Jacob Fugger 

After a wood engraving. This 
merchant prince, a contemporary 
of Columbus, lived at Augsburg in 
Germany, where he amassed an 
enormous fortune. 


496 Cities during the Later Middle Ages 

Moreover, the Baltic, like the Mediterranean, sank to minor 
importance as a commercial center, after the Portuguese had 
discovered the sea route to India and the Span- 
^/the 16 iards had opened up the New World. City after 
Hanseatic city gradually withdrew from the league, till only 
Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen remained. They 
are still called free and independent cities, though they are now 
included in the German Republic. 


185. The Cities of Flanders 

The Netherlands, or “Low Countries,” now divided between 
Holland and Belgium, consisted in the Middle Ages of a num¬ 
ber of feudal states. 
These were nominally 
County of under the 

Flanders control of 

German and French 
kings, but were really 
quite independent. 
Among them was the 
county of Flanders. 
It included the coast 
region from Calais to 
the mouth of the 
Scheldt, as well as a 
considerable district in 
what is now north¬ 
western France. The 
inhabitants of Flan¬ 
ders were partly of 
Teutonic extraction 
(the Flemings) and 
partly akin to the 
French (the Walloons). 

Flanders enjoyed a 
good situation for 
commerce. The coun- 



Belfry of Bruges 

Bruges, the capital of West Flanders, contains many 
fine monuments of the Middle Ages. Among these is the 
belfry, which rises in the center of the facade of the market 
hall. It dates from the end of the thirteenth century. 
Its height is 352 feet. The belfry consists of three stories-, 
the two lower ones square, and the upper one, octagonal. 





The Cities of Flanders 


497 

try formed a convenient stopping place for merchants who went 
by sea between the Mediterranean and the Baltic, while im¬ 
portant land routes led thither from all parts of d 
western Europe. Flanders was also an industrial commercial 
center. Its middle classes early discovered the and industria l 
fact that by devotion to manufacturing even a 
small and sterile region may become rich and populous. 

The leading industry of Flanders was weaving. England 
in the Middle Ages raised great flocks of sheep, but lacking 
skilled workmen to manufacture the wool into fine Flemish 
cloth, sent it across the Channel to Flanders. A w ° o1 trade 
medieval writer declared that the whole world was clothed in 
English wool manufactured by the Flemings. The taxes that 
were laid on the export of wool helped to pay the expenses of 
English kings in their wars with the Welsh, the Scotch, and the 
Irish. The wool trade also made Flanders the ally of England 
in the Hundred Years’ War. 

Three Flemish cities were especially important. Bruges was 
the mart where the trade of southern Europe, in the hands of 
the Venetians, and the trade of northern Europe, Bruges, 
in the hands of Hanseatic merchants, came to- Ghent, and 
gether. Ghent, with forty thousand workshops, Ypres 
and Ypres, which counted two hundred thousand workmen 
within its walls and suburbs, were scarcely less prosperous. 
When these cities declined in wealth, Antwerp became the com¬ 
mercial metropolis of the Netherlands. 

Flanders during the fourteenth century was annexed by 
France. The Flemish cities resisted bravely, and on more than 
one occasion their citizen levies, who could handle Flanders 
the sword and ax, as well as the loom, defeated the and France 
French armies, thus demonstrating again that foot soldiers were 
a match for mailed cavalry. Had the cities been able to form 
a lasting league, they might have established an independent 
Flanders, but the bitter rivalry of Ghent and Bruges led to for¬ 
eign domination, lasting into the nineteenth century. 1 

1 In 1831 a.d. the two provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders became 
part of the modern kingdom of Belgium. 



49 8 


Cities during the Later Middle Ages 



, Town Hall of Louvain, Belgium 

One of the richest and most ornate examples of Gothic architecture. Erected in the fifteenth 
century. The building consists of three stories, above which rises the lofty roof crowned with 
graceful towers. The interior decorations and arrangements are commonplace. 


The great cities of Flanders, Germany, and Italy, not to 

speak of those in France, Spain, and England, were much more 

The cities tha,n cent ers of trade, industry, and finance. 

a P ( f 1 . . Learning and art also flourished within their walls 

civilization , , ^ , . . , . 

to an extent which had never been possible m 

earlier times, when rural life prevailed throughout western 

Europe. We shall now see what the cities of the Middle Ages 

contributed to civilization. 









The Cities of Flanders 


499 


0 Studies 

T- Indicate on the map some great commercial cities of the Middle Ages as fol¬ 
lows : four in Italy; three in the Netherlands; and six in Germany. *57 Why does 
an America city have a charter? Where is it obtained? What privileges does it 
confer? 3 \ Who comprised the “third estate” in the Middle Ages? What class 
corresponds to it at the present time? 4. Why has the medieval city been called 
the “birthplace of modern democracy”? fgT Compare the merchant guild with 
the modern chamber of commerce, and craft guilds with modern trade unions. 
6. Look up the origin of the words “apprentice,” “journeyman,” and “master.” 

Why was there no antagonism between labor and capital under the guild sys¬ 
tem? 8. Compare the medieval abhorrence of “engrossing” with the modern idea 
that combinations in restraint of trade” are wrong. Why were fairs a necessity 
in the Middle Ages? Why are they not so useful now? ''Where are they still found? 

HTo. Compare a medieval fair with a modern exposition, n. What would be the 
effect on trade within an American state if tolls were levied on the border of every 
county? 12. What is meant by a “robber baron”? 13. How did the names 
“ damask” linen, “chinaw r are,” “japanned” ware, and “cashmere” shawls originate? 
14. Why was the purchasing power of money much greater in the Middle Ages than 
it is now? 15. Why are modern coins always made perfectly round and with 
“milled” edges? 16. Are modern coins “debased” to any considerable extent? 
What is the use of alloys? 17. Why was the money-changer so necessary a figure in 
medieval business? How is it easy to evade laws forbidding usury ? 19. Look 

up in an encyclopedia the legend of the “Wandering Jew.” How does it illustrate 
the medieval attitude toward Jews? 20. Compare the Italian despots with the 
Greek tyrants. 21. Show that Venice in medieval times was the seaport nearest 
the heart of commercial Europe. 22. Compare the Venetian and Athenian sea-em¬ 
pires in respect to ( a ) extent, (b) duration, and (c) commercial policy. 23. Why 
was Venice called the “bride of the sea”? 


CHAPTER XXIII 
MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION i 


186 . Formation of National Languages 


Latin as 
an inter¬ 
national 
language 


Latin was an international language throughout the Middle 
Ages. The Roman Church used it for papal bulls and other 
documents. Prayers were recited, hymns were 
sung, and sometimes sermons were preached in 
Latin. It was also the language of men of culture 
everywhere in western Christendom. University 
professors lectured in Latin, students spoke Latin, lawyers 
addressed judges in Latin, and the merchants in different coun¬ 
tries wrote Latin letters to one another. All learned books 
were composed in Latin until the close of the sixteenth century. 
This practice has not yet been entirely abandoned by scholars. 

Each European country during the Middle Ages had also 
its own national tongue. The so-called Romance languages, 2 
Romance including modern French, Italian, Spanish, Portu- 
languages guese, and Rumanian, were derived from the Latin 
spoken by the Romanized inhabitants of the lands now known 
as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Rumania. 

The French language originated from the popular Latin of 
the Gallo-Romans in the north of France, particularly in the 
French region about Paris. The unification of the French 

kingdom under Hugh Capet and his successors 
gradually extended the speech of northern France over the en¬ 
tire country. French contains less than a thousand words 
introduced by the Teutonic invaders of Gaul. Even fewer in 
number are the words of Celtic origin. The language, there¬ 
fore, is almost entirely of Latin derivation. 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xvii, “Medieval 
Tales”; chapter xviii, “Three Medieval Epics.” 

2 See pages 208 and 322. 

500 


Anglo-Saxon 


Formation of National Languages 501 

The Teutonic peoples who remained outside what had been 
the limits of the Roman world continued to use their native 
tongues during the Middle Ages. From them Teutonic 
have come modern German, Dutch, Flemish, 1 language 
and the various Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian, 
Swedish, and Icelandic 2 ). All these languages in their earli¬ 
est known forms show unmistakable traces of a common origin. 

Britain was the only Roman province in the west of Europe 
where a Teutonic language took root and maintained itself. 
Here the rough, guttural speech of the Anglo- 
Saxons completely drove out the popular Latin. 

Anglo-Saxon, in course of time, underwent various changes. 
Christian missionaries, from the seventh century onward, in¬ 
troduced many new Latin terms for church offices, services, and 
observances. The Danes, besides contributing some place- 
names, gave us that most useful word are , and also the habit 
of using to before an infinitive. The coming of the Normans 
deeply affected Anglo-Saxon. Norman-French influence helped 
to make the language simpler, by ridding it of the cumbersome 
declensions and conjugations which it had in common with all 
Teutonic tongues. Many new Norman-French words also 
crept in, as the hostility of the English people toward their 
conquerors disappeared. 

Anglo-Saxon, by the middle of the thirteenth century, had 
so far developed that it may now be called English. In the 
poems of Geoffrey Chaucer (about 1340-1400 a.d.), 
especially in his Canterbury Tales, English wears 
quite a modern aspect, though the reader is often troubled by 
the old spelling and by certain words not now in use. The 
changes in the grammar of English have been so extremely 
small since the end of the fifteenth century that any English¬ 
man of ordinary education can read without difficulty a book 
written more than four hundred years ago. English has been, 
and still is, hospitable to new words, so that its vocabulary has 


English 


1 The language spoken by the natives of Flanders. 

2 Icelandic is the oldest and purest form of Scandinavian. Danish and Nor¬ 
wegian are practically the same, in fact, their literary or book-language is one. 


502 


Medieval Civilization 


grown very fast by the adoption of terms from Latin, French, 
and other languages. These have immensely increased the 
expressiveness of English, while giving it a position midway 
between the very different Romance and Teutonic languages. 

187. Development of National Literatures 

Medieval literature includes many notable productions. In 
the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries Latin hymns reached 

their perfection. The sublime Dies Irce (“Day 
Latin hymns TTT , ,, N . . . _ . . . 

o± Wrath ) presents a picture oi the final judg¬ 
ment of the wicked. St. Bernard’s Jesu Dulcis Memoria 
(“Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee”) forms part of a beautiful 
hymn nearly two hundred lines in length. Part of another 
hymn, composed by a monk of Cluny, has been rendered into 
English as “Jerusalem the Golden.” Latin hymns made use 
of rhyme, then something of a novelty, and thus helped to 
popularize this poetic device. 

A pleasant glimpse of gay society is afforded by the songs 
of the troubadours. These professional poets flourished in the 
Songs of the south of France, but many of them traveled from 
troubadours court to court in other countries. Their verses, 
composed in the Provencal 1 language, were always sung to the_ 
accompaniment of some musical instrument, generally the lute. 
Romantic love and deeds of chivalry were the two themes which 
most inspired the troubadours. They, too, took up the use of 
rhyme, using it so skillfully as to become the teachers of Europe 
in lyric poetry. 

Northern France gave birth to epic or narrative poems, de¬ 
scribing the exploits of mythical heroes or historic kings. The 
The French poems for a long time remained unwritten and were 
epic recited by minstrels, who did not hesitate to mod¬ 

ify and enlarge them at will. It was not until late in the 
eleventh century that any epics were written down. They en¬ 
joyed high esteem in aristocratic circles and penetrated all 
countries where feudalism prevailed. 

1 A Romance language, closely related to French and spoken in the south of 
France. 





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ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT 


From an old manuscript now in the possession of the British Museum. The 
shrine of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was a celebrated resort fof 
medieval pilgrims. The city with its cathedral appears in the background. 





















Development of National Literatures 503 

Many of the French epics dealt with Charlemagne and his 
reign. The oldest and at the same time the finest epic connected 
with Charlemagne is the Song of Roland . 1 The songof 
poem centers around Roland, one of the twelve Roland 
peers of France. When leading the rearguard of Charlemagne’s 
army out of Spain, Roland is suddenly attacked in the pass of 
Roncesvalles by the treacherous Moors. He slays the enemy 
in heaps with his good sword, Durendal, and only after nearly 
all the Franks have perished 
sounds his magic horn to sum¬ 
mon aid. Charlemagne, fifteen 
leagues distant, hears its notes 
and returns quickly. Before 
help arrives, Roland has fallen. 

He dies on the field of battle, 
with his face to the foe, and a 
prayer on his lips that “sweet 
France” may never be dis¬ 
honored. This stirring poem 
appealed strongly to the mar¬ 
tial Normans. A medieval 
chronicler relates that just be¬ 
fore the battle of Hastings a 
Norman minstrel rode out be¬ 
tween the lines, tossing his sword in air and catching it again, 
as he chanted the song “of Roland and of Charlemagne, of 
Oliver and many a brave vassal who lost his life at Ronces¬ 
valles.” 

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were also 
important figures in medieval legend. Arthur was said to have 
reigned in Britain early in the sixth century and to The 
have fought against the Anglo-Saxons. Whether he Arthurian 
ever lived or not we do not know. This Celtic king romances 
stands forth in the Arthurian romances as the model knight, the 
ideal of noble chivalry. Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur, 
one of the first books to be printed in England, contains 

1 See page 309, note x. 



Roland at Roncesvalles 


From a thirteenth-century window of 
stained glass in Chartres Cathedral. At the 
right Roland sounding his horn; at the left 
Roland endeavoring to break his sword 
Durendal. 




504 


Medieval Civilization 


many of the narratives from which Tennyson, in his Idylls of 
the King, and other modern poets have drawn their inspiration. 

The greatest epic composed in Germany during the Middle 
Ages was the Nibelungenlied. The poem begins in Burgundy, 
TheNibe- where three kings hold court at Worms, on the 

lungenlied Rhine. Thither comes the hero, Siegfried, ruler 

of the Netherlands. He had slain the mysterious Nibelungs 
and had seized their treasure, together with the magic cloud- 
cloak which rendered its wearer invisible to human eyes. He 
had also killed a dragon and by bath¬ 
ing in its blood had become invul¬ 
nerable, except in one place where a 
linden leaf touched his body. Seig- 
fried marries Kriemhild, a beautiful 
Burgundian princess, and with her 
lives most happily. But a curse at¬ 
tached to the Nibelung treasure, and 
Siegfried’s enemy, the “grim Hagen,” 
treacherously slays him by a spear 
thrust in the one spot where he could 
be hurt. Many years afterwards 
Kriemhild marries Attila, king of the 
Huns, on condition that he help her 
to vengeance. Hagen and his Bur¬ 
gundians are invited to Hunland, 
where Kriemhild causes them all to be put to death. The name 
of the poet who compiled and probably wrote much of the 
Nibelungenlied remains unknown, but his work has a place 
among the classics of German literature. 

No account of medieval literature ought to omit a reference 
to Reynard the Fox. This is a long poem, first written in Latin, 
Reynard and then turned into the chief languages of Europe. 

The characters are animals : Reynard, cunning and 
audacious, who outwits all his foes; Chanticleer the cock; 
Bruin the Bear; Isengrim the Wolf; and many others. But 
they are animals in name only. We see them worship like 
Christians, go to mass, ride on horseback, debate in councils, 



A Ballad Singer 

Miniature from a thirteenth cen¬ 
tury manuscript in the Bibliothfeque 
Nationale, Paris. 





Romanesque and Gothic Architecture 505 

and amuse themselves with hawking and hunting. Satire often 
creeps in, as when the villainous Fox confesses his sins to the 
Badger or vows that he will go to the Holy Land on a pilgrim¬ 
age. The special interest of this work lies in the fact that it 
expressed the feelings of the common people, groaning under 
the oppression of feudal lords. 

The same democratic spirit breathes in the old English bal¬ 
lads of the outlaw Robin Hood. According to some accounts 
he flourished in the second half of the twelfth cen- The Robin 
tury, when Henry II and Richard the Lionhearted Hood ballads 
reigned over England. Robin Hood, with his merry men, 
leads an adventurous life in Sherwood Forest, engaging in feats 
of strength and hunting the king’s tall deer. Bishops, sheriffs, 
and gamekeepers are his only enemies. He has the greatest 
pity for the common people, and robs the rich to endow the 
poor. Courtesy, generosity, and love of fair play are some of 
the characteristics which made him a popular hero. If King 
Arthur was the ideal knight, Robin Hood was the ideal yeoman. 
The ballads about him were sung by country folk for hundreds 
of years. 

188 . Romanesque and Gothic Architecture; the Cathedrals 

Architecture made little progress for several centuries after 
the Teutonic invasions, except in Italy, which was subject to 
Byzantine influence, and in Spain, which was a Two archi- 
center of Arabian culture. The architectural tectural 
revival dates from the time of Charlemagne, with styles 
the adoption of an architectural style called Romanesque, be¬ 
cause it went back to Roman principles of construction. Ro¬ 
manesque architecture arose in Northern Italy and southern 
France and gradually spread to other European countries. It 
was followed by the Gothic style of architecture, which prevailed 
during the later Middle Ages. 

The church of the early Christians seems to have been modeled 
upon the Roman basilica, with its arrangement of The Roman- 
nave and aisles, its circular arched recess (apse) esque style 
at one end, and its flat, wooden ceiling supported by columns. 


Medieval Civilization 


5°6 

The Romanesque church departed from the basilican plan by 
the introduction of transepts, thus giving the building the form 
of a Latin cross. A dome, which might be covered by a pointed 
roof, was generally raised over the junction of the nave and 
transepts. At the same time the apse was enlarged so as to 
form the choir, a place reserved for the clergy. 



Plan op Salisbury Cathedral, England 

i Principal west doorway; 2, 3 aisles of nave; 4 north porch; 5 tower; 6, 6 pulpits; 7 
throne; 8 altar; 9 font; 10, 11 choir aisles; 12, 13 east or choir transept; 14 sacristy; 15 
cloister; 16 chapter house. 


The Romanesque church also differed from a basilica in the 
Vaulting use vaulting to take the place of a flat ceiling, 

and the The old Romans had constructed their vaulted 

rc roofs and domes in concrete, which forms a rigid 
mass and rests securely upon the walls like the lid of a box. 














































Romanesque and Gothic Architecture 507 


Medieval architects, however, built in stone, which exerts an 
outward thrust and tends to force the walls apart. Conse¬ 
quently they were obliged to make the walls very thick and to 
strengthen them by piers, or buttresses, on the outside of the 
edifice. It was also necessary to reduce the width of the vaulted 
spaces. The vaulting, windows, and doorways had the form 
of the round arch, that is, a semi¬ 
circle, as in the ancient Roman 
monuments. 

Gothic architecture arose in 
France in the country around 
Paris, at a time The Gothic 
when the French style 
kingdom was taking the lead 
in European affairs. It later 
spread to England, Germany, the 
Netherlands, and even to south¬ 
ern Europe. The term Gothic 
was applied contemptuously to 
this architectural style by writers 
of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries, who regarded every¬ 
thing non-classical as barbarous. 

They believed it to be an inven¬ 
tion of the barbarian Goths, and 
so they called it Gothic. 

The Gothic style formed a 
natural development from Ro¬ 
manesque. The architects of a 
Gothic church wished to retain the vaulted ceiling, but at the 
same time to do away with thick, solid walls, which had so 
little window space as to leave the interior of the Ribbed 
building dark and gloomy. They solved this prob- vaulting and 
lem, in the first place, by using a great number of j* e tt ^“ g 
stone ribs, which gathered up the weight of the 
ceiling and rested on pillars. Ribbed vaulting made possible 
higher ceilings, spanning wider areas, than in Romanesque 



Cross Section of Amiens 
Cathedral 

A, vaulting; B, ribs; C, flying but¬ 
tresses ; D, buttresses; E, low windows; 
F, clerestory. 





































Medieval Civilization 


5°8 


churches. In the second place, the pillars supporting the ribs 
were themselves connected by means of flying buttresses with 
stout piers of masonry outside the walls of the church. These 
walls, relieved from the pressure of the ceiling, now became a 
mere screen to keep out the weather. They could be built 
of light materials and opened up with high, wide windows. 

Ribbed vaulting and the flying buttress are the distinctive 


features of Gothic architecture. A 
but not so important, is the use 





third feature, noteworthy 
of the pointed arch. It 
was not Christian in ori¬ 
gin, for it had long been 
The pointed known to the 
arch Arabs in the 

East and the Moslem con¬ 
querors of Sicily. The 
semicircular or round arch 
can be only half as high 
as it is wide, but the 
pointed arch may vary 
greatly in its proportions. 
The use of this device en¬ 
abled the Gothic builder 
to bridge over different 
widths at any required 
height. It is also lighter 
and more graceful than 
the round arch. 

The labors of the Gothic architect were admirably seconded 
by those of other artists. The sculptor cut figures of men, 
Gothic animals, and plants in the utmost profusion. The 

ornament painter covered vacant wall spaces with brilliant 
mosaics and frescoes. The wood-carver made exquisite choir 
stalls, pulpits, altars, and screens. Master workmen filled the 
stone tracery of the windows with stained glass unequaled in 
coloring by the finest modern work. Some rigorous churchmen 
condemned the expense of these magnificent cathedrals, but most 
men found in their beauty an additional reason to praise God. 


Gargoyles on the Cathedral oe 
Notre Dame, Paris 

Strange, grotesque figures and faces of stone, 
used as ornaments of Gothic buildings and as spouts 
to carry off rain water. They represent beasts, 
demons, and other creations of medieval fancy. 









I 



REIMS CATHEDRAL 

The cathedral of Notre Dame at Reims in northwestern France stands on the site where 
Clovis was baptized by St. Remi. Here most of the French kings were consecrated with holy 
oil by the archbishops of Reims. Except the west front, which was built in the fourteenth 
century, the cathedral was completed by the end of the thirteenth century. The towers, 
267 feet high, were originally designed to reach 394 feet. The facade, with its three arched 
portals, exquisite rose window, and “gallery of the kings,” is justly celebrated. The cathedral 
— wall’s, roof, statues, and windows — has been terribly damaged by the German bombard 
ment during the late war. 


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Education; the Universities 


5°9 


Gothic architecture, though at first confined to churches, 
came to be used for other buildings. Monuments of the secu¬ 
lar Gothic include beautiful town halls, guild halls, The secular 
markets, and charming private houses. But the Gothic 
cathedral remained the best expression of the Gothic style. 

i 

189 . Education; the Universities 

The educational system of the early Middle Ages was based 
on monastic and cathedral schools, where boys were trained to 
become monks or priests. Such schools had been gchools 
created or restored by Charlemagne. The teach¬ 
ing, which lay entirely in the hands of the clergy, was elementary 
in character. Pupils learned enough Latin grammar to read 
religious books, if not always to understand them, and enough 
music to follow the services of the Church. They also studied 
arithmetic by means of the awkward Roman notation, received 
a smattering of astronomy, and sometimes gained a little knowl¬ 
edge of such subjects as geography, law, and philosophy. Be¬ 
sides these monastic and cathedral schools, others were main¬ 
tained by the guilds and also by private benefactors. 

There are about fifty European universities dating from the 
later Middle Ages. They arose, as it were, spontaneously. 
Western Europe in the eleventh and twelfth cen- Ri se 0 f 
turies felt the thrill of a great intellectual revival, universities 
It was stimulated by intercourse with the highly cultivated 
Arabs in Spain, Sicily, and the East, and with the Greek scholars 
of Constantinople during the crusades. The desire for instruc¬ 
tion became so general that elementary schools could not satisfy 
it. Other schools were then opened in the cities, and to them 
flocked eager learners from every quarter. 

How easily a university might grow up about the personality 
of some eminent teacher is shown by the career of Abelard. The 
eldest son of a noble family in Brittany, Abelard Peter Abelard 
would naturally have entered upon a military 1079-1142 
career, but he chose instead the life of a scholar A ' D ' 
and the contests of debate. He came to Paris and attended 
the lectures given by a master of the cathedral school of Notre 


Medieval Civilization 


5io 


Dame. Abelard himself soon set up as a lecturer. Few teach¬ 
ers have ever attracted so large and so devoted a following. His 
lecture room under the shadow of the great cathedral was filled 
with a crowd of youths and men drawn from all countries. 

The fame of Abelard led to an increase of masters and students 
at Paris and so paved the way for the establishment of the uni- 
University versity there, later in the twelfth century. Paris 
of Paris soon became such a center of learning, particularly 

in theology and philosophy, that a medieval writer referred to it 



View oe New College, Oxford 


New College, despite its name, is one of the oldest of the Oxford collegiate foundations. It 
was established in 1379 a.d. by William of Wykeham. The illustration shows the chapel, 
the cloisters, consecrated in 1400 a.d., and the detached tower, a tall, massive structure on 
the line of the city wall. 


as “the mill where the world’s corn is ground, and the hearth 
where its bread is baked.” The university of Paris, in the time 
of its greatest prosperity, had over five thousand students. It 
furnished the model for the English university of Oxford, as 
well as for the learned institutions of Scotland, Denmark, 
Sweden, and Germany. 

The institutions of learning in southern Europe were modeled, 
University more or less, upon the university of Bologna. At 
of Bologna this Italian city a celebrated teacher named Irne- 
rius gathered about him thousands of pupils for the study of the 







Education; the Universities 


5ii 


Justinian code. The university developed out of his law school. 
Bologna was the center from which the Roman system of juris¬ 
prudence made its way into France, Germany, and other Con¬ 
tinental countries. From Bologna, also, came the monk Gra- 
tian, who drew up the accepted text-book of canon law, as 
followed in all Church courts. 

The word “ university ” 1 meant at first simply a union or 
association. All artisans in the Middle Ages belonged to guilds, 
and when masters and pupils associated them- University 
selves for teaching and study they naturally copied organization 
the guild form. This was the more necessary since the student 
body included so many foreigners, who found protection against 
annoyances only as members of a guild. 

A university consisted of masters (the professors), who had 

the right to teach, and students, both elementary and advanced, 

who corresponded to apprentices and journeymen. 

* cj . Degrees 

Alter passing his preliminary examinations, a 

student became a “bachelor of arts” and might teach certain 
elementary subjects to those beneath him. Upon the com¬ 
pletion of the full course — usually six years in length — the 
bachelor took his final examinations and, if successful, received 
the coveted degree of “master of arts.” Many students, of 
course, never took a degree at all. 

A university in the Middle Ages did not need an expensive 
collection of libraries, laboratories, and museums. Its only 
necessary equipment consisted in lecture rooms 
for the professors. Not even benches or chairs 
were required, for students often sat on the straw-strewn floors. 
The high price of manuscripts compelled professors to give all 
instruction by lectures. This method of teaching has been 
retained in modern universities, since even the printed book is 
a poor substitute for a scholar’s inspiring words. 

The universities were under the protection of the Church, 
and it was natural that those who attended them 
should possess some of the privileges of clergymen. 

Students were not required to pay taxes or to serve in the 

1 Latin universitas. 


The teachers 


The students 


512 


Medieval Civilization 



army. They also enjoyed the right of trial in their own courts. 
This was an especially valuable privilege, for medieval students 
were constantly getting into troubje with the city authorities. 
When the students were dissatisfied with their treatment in 

one place, it was al¬ 
ways easy for them 
to go to another uni¬ 
versity. Sometimes 
masters and scholars 
made off in a body. 
Oxford appears to 
have owed its exist¬ 
ence to a migration of 
English students from 
Paris; Cambridge 
arose as the result of 
a migration from Ox¬ 
ford ; and the German 
university of Leipzig 
sprang from that of 
Prague in Bohemia. 

The members of a university usually lived in a number of 
colleges. These seem to have been at first little more than 
lodging-houses, where poor students were cared 
for at the expense of some benefactor. The col¬ 
leges subsequently became teaching bodies under the direction 
of masters. At Oxford and Cambridge, where the collegiate 
system has been retained to the present time, each college has its 
separate buildings and enjoys the privilege of self-government. 

The studies in a medieval university were grouped under the 
four faculties of arts, theology, law, and medicine. The first- 
Facuities named faculty taught the “seven liberal arts,” 
that is, grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, 
geometry, astronomy, and music. These subjects were a legacy 
from old Roman education. Theology, law, and medicine 
then, as now, were professional studies, taken up after the com¬ 
pletion of the Arts course. Owing to the constant movement 


A University Lecture 

After a fifteenth century manuscript in the British 
Museum. 


Colleges 



























Scholasticism 


5i3 


of students from one university to another, each institution 
tended to specialize in one or more subjects. Paris came to be 
noted for theology, Montpellier, Padua, and Salerno for medi¬ 
cine, and Orleans, Bologna, and Salamanca for law. 

190. Scholasticism 

Theology formed the chief subject of instruction in most 
medieval universities. Nearly all the celebrated scholars of 
the age were theologians. They sought to arrange Theological 
the doctrines of the Church in systematic and stud y 
reasonable form, in order to answer those great questions con¬ 
cerning the nature of God and of the soul which have always 
occupied the human mind. For this purpose it was necessary 
to call in the aid of philosophy. The union of theology and 
philosophy produced what is known as scholasticism . 1 

The philosophy on which the scholastics relied was chiefly 
that of Aristotle. Christian Europe read him at first in Latin 
translations from the Arabic, but versions were study of 
later made from Greek copies found in Constanti- Aristotle 
nople and elsewhere in the East. This revival of Aristotle, 
though it broadened men’s minds by acquainting them with the 
ideas of the greatest of Greek thinkers, had serious drawbacks. 
It discouraged rather than favored the search for fresh truth. 
Many scholastics were satisfied to appeal to Aristotle’s author¬ 
ity, rather than take the trouble of finding out things for them¬ 
selves. 

There were many famous scholastics, or “ schoolmen,” but 
easily the foremost among them was the Italian monk, Thomas 
Aquinas. He taught at Paris, Cologne, Rome, Thomas 
and Bologna, and became so celebrated for learn- Aquinas, 
ing as to be known as the “ Angelic Doctor.” 1227-1274 
Though Aquinas died at an early age, he left be¬ 
hind him no less than eighteen folio volumes. His Summa 
Theologies (“Compendium of Theology”), as the name indicates, 
gathered up all that the Middle Ages believed of the relations 
between God and man. The Roman Church has placed him 

1 The method of the school (Latin schola ). 


5i4 


Medieval Civilization 


among her saints and still recommends the study of his writings 
as the foundation of all sound theology. 

Enough has been said to show that the method of study in 
medieval universities was not that which generally obtains 
The to-day. There was almost no original research, 

scholastic Law students memorized the Justinian code. 

Medical students learned anatomy and physiol¬ 
ogy from old Greek books, instead of in the dissecting room. 
Theologians and philosophers went to the Bible, the Church 
Fathers, or Aristotle for the solution of all problems. They 
often debated the most subtle questions, for instance, “Can 
God ever know more than He knows that He knows?” Men¬ 
tal gymnastics of this sort furnished a good training in logic, 
but added nothing to the sum of human knowledge. Scholasti¬ 
cism, accordingly, fell into disrepute, in proportion as men began 
to substitute scientific observation and experiment for specu¬ 
lation. 

191. Science and Magic 

The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were marked by a healthy 
interest in science. Long encyclopedias, written in Latin, 
Scientific collected all available information about the 
inventions natural world. The study of physics made con¬ 
spicuous progress, partly as a result of the influence of Arabian 
scholars. Various scientific inventions, including clocks and 
magnifying lenses (for eyeglasses), were worked out. The 
mariner’s compass, perhaps derived from the Arabs, also came 
into general use. 

We may take the Englishman, Roger Bacon, as a representa¬ 
tive of this scientific interest. He studied at Paris, where his 
Roger Bacon, attainments secured for him the title of the “ Won- 
about 1214- derful Doctor,” and lectured at Oxford. At a 
period when Aristotle’s influence was unbounded, 
Bacon turned away from scholastic philosophy to mathematics 
and the sciences. No great discoveries were made by him, but 
it is interesting to read a passage in one of his works where some 
modern inventions are distinctly foreseen. In time, he wrote, 


5 I 5 


Science and Magic 

ships will be moved without rowers, and carriages will be pro¬ 
pelled without animals to draw them. Machines for flying 
will also be constructed, “wherein a man sits revolving some 
engine by which artificial wings are made to beat the air like a 
flying bird.” 

The discovery of gunpowder, a compound of saltpeter, char¬ 
coal, and sulphur, has often been attributed to Bacon, probably 
incorrectly. Bacon and other men of his time Gunpowder 
seem to have been familiar with the composition 
of gunpowder, but they regarded it as merely a sort of firework, 
producing a sudden and brilliant flame. They little suspected 
that in a confined space the expansive power of its gases could 
be used to hurl projectiles. Gunpowder was occasionally manu¬ 
factured during the fourteenth century, but for a long time it 
made more noise than it did harm. Small brass cannon, throw¬ 
ing stone balls, began at length to displace the medieval siege 
weapons, and still later muskets took the place of the bow, the 
cross-bow, and the pike. The revolution in the art of warfare 
introduced by gunpowder had vast importance. It destroyed 
the usefulness of the castle and enabled the peasant to fight the 
mailed knight on equal terms. Gunpowder, accordingly, must 
be included among the forces which brought about the down¬ 
fall of feudalism. 

The study of chemistry also engaged the attention of medieval 
investigators. It was, however, much mixed up with alchemy, a 
psuedo science which the Middle Ages had received chemistry 
from the Greeks, and they, in turn, from the and alchemy 
Egyptians. The alchemists believed that minerals possessed a 
real life of their own and that they were continually developing 
in the ground toward the state of gold, the perfect metal. It 
was necessary, therefore, to discover the “philosopher s stone, 
which would turn all metals into gold. The alchemists never 
found it, but they learned a good deal about the various metals 
and discovered a number of compounds and colors. Alchemy 
in this way contributed to the advance of chemistry. 

Astronomy in the Middle Ages was the most advanced of any 
natural science, though the telescope and the Copernican theory 




516 Medieval Civilization 

were as yet in the future. Astronomy, the wise mother, had a 
foolish daughter, astrology, the origin of which can be traced 
Astronomy back to Babylonia. Medieval students no longer 
and astrology regarded the stars as divine, but they believed that 
the natural world and the life of men were controlled by celestial 

influences. Astrologers pro¬ 
fessed to predict the fate of a 
person from the position of 
the planets at the time of his 
birth. Astrological rules were 
also drawn from the signs of 
the zodiac. A child born un¬ 
der the sign of the Lion will 
be courageous; one born under 
the Crab will not go forward 
well in life; one born under 
the Waterman will probably 
be drowned, and so forth. 
Such fancies seem absurd enough, but in the Middle Ages 
educated people entertained them. 

Alchemy and astrology were not the only instances of medie¬ 
val credulity. The most improbable stories found ready ac- 
Medieval ceptance. Roger Bacon, for instance, thought 
credulity that “flying dragons” still existed in Europe and 
that eating their flesh lengthened human life. Works on natural 
history soberly described the lizard-like salamander, which 
dwelt in fire, and the phoenix, a bird which, after living for 
five hundred years, burned itself to death and then rose again 
full grown from the ashes. Another fabulous creature was the 
unicorn, with the head and body of a horse, the hind legs of 
an antelope, the beard of a goat, and a long, sharp horn set in 
the middle of the forehead. Various plants and minerals were 
also credited with marvelous powers. Thus, the nasturtium, 
used as a liniment, would keep one’s hair from falling out, and 
the sapphire, when powdered and mixed with milk, would heal 
ulcers and cure headache. Such quaint beliefs linger to-day 
among uneducated people, even in civilized lands. 



The Phcenix 

From a book published in 1579 a.d. 








Popular Superstitions 517 


Magicians of every sort flourished in the Middle Ages. Onei- 
romancers 1 took omens from dreams. Palmists read fortunes 
in the lines and irregularities of the hand. Necro- 

Md.siciAns 

mancers 2 professed to reveal the future by pre¬ 
tended communications with departed spirits. Other magicians 
made talismans or lucky 
objects to be worn on the 
person, mirrors in which 
the images of the dead or 
the absent were reflected, 
and various powders 
which, when mixed with 
food or drink, would in¬ 
spire hatred or affection in 
the one consuming them. 

It would be easy to draw 
up a long list of the devices 
by which practitioners of 
magic made a living at the expense of the ignorant and the 
superstitious. 



Magician Rescued from the Devil 

Miniature in a thirteenth-century manuscript in 
the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. The Devil, at¬ 
tempting to seize a magician who had formed a pact 
with him, is prevented by a lay brother. 


192. Popular Superstitions 

Many medieval superstitions are preserved in folk tales, or 
“fairy stories.” Every child now reads these tales in books, 
but until the nineteenth century very few of them Folk 
had been collected and written down . 3 They tales 
lived on the lips of the people, being told by mothers and 
nurses to children and by young and old about the firesides 
during the long winter evenings. Story-telling formed one of 
the chief amusements of the Middle Ages. 

The fairies who appear so commonly in folk tales are known 
by different names. They are bogies, brownies, goblins, pixies, 
kobolds (in Germany), trolls (in Denmark), and so on. The 

1 Greek oneiros, “dream.” 2 Greek nekros, “corpse.” 

3 Charles Perrault’s Tales of Passed Times appeared at Paris in 1697 A.D. It 
included the now-familiar stories of “Bluebeard,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” 
and “Little Red Riding Hood.” In 1812 a.d. the brothers Grimm published their 
Household Tales, a collection of stories current in Germany. 









5i8 


Medieval Civilization 


Fairies 


Celts, especially, had a lively faith in fairies, and it was from 
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland that many stories about them 
became current in Europe after the tenth century. 
Some students have explained the belief in fairies 
as due to memories of an ancient pygmy people dwelling in 
underground homes. But most of these supernatural beings 
seem to be the descendants of the spirits and demons which in 
savage fancy haunt the world. 

Stories of giants are common in folk tales. It may be that 
traditions of prehistoric peoples have sometimes given birth 
Giants and to legends of giants. Another source of stories 
ogres concerning them has been the discovery of huge 

fossil bones, such as those of the mammoth or mastodon, 
which were formerly supposed to be bones of gigantic men. 
The ogres, who sometimes figure in folk tales, are giants with a 
taste for human flesh. They recall the cannibals of the savage 
world. 

Werewolves were persons who, by natural gift or magic art, 
were thought to have the power of turning themselves for a time 
Werewolves ^ lt ° leasts (generally wolves or bears). In 
this animal shape they ravaged flocks and de¬ 
voured young children. A werewolf was. said to sleep only two 
nights in the month and to spend the rest of the time roam¬ 
ing the woods and fields. Trials of persons accused of being 
werewolves were held in France as late as the end of the six¬ 
teenth century. The belief is even now found in backward 
parts of Europe. 

The medieval superstition of the evil eye endowed certain 
persons with the power of bewitching, injuring, or killing others 

The evil eye by a single & lance - Children and domestic ani¬ 
mals were thought to be particularly susceptible 
to the effects of u fascination.” In order to guard against it 
charms of various sorts, including texts from the Bible, were 
carried about. The belief in the evil eye came into Europe 
from pagan antiquity. It survived the Middle Ages and lingers 
yet among uneducated people. 

The belief in witchcraft, which prevailed in ancient times. 



Popular Superstitions 


5i9 


was also strongly held during the Middle Ages. Witches were 
supposed to have sold themselves to the Devil, receiving in 
return the power to work magic. They could 

1 1 , . . G . Z . . Witchcraft 

change themselves or others into ammals, they had 
charms against the hurt of weapons, they could raise storms and 
destroy crops, and they could convey thorns, pins, and other 
objects into their victims’ bodies, thus causing sickness and 
death. At night they rode on broomsticks through the air and 
assembled in some lonely place for feasts, dances, and wild revels. 





The Witches’ Sabbath 

The Devil himself attended these “Witches’ Sabbaths” and 
taught his followers their diabolic arts. There were various 
tests for the discovery of witches and wizards, the most usual 
being the ordeal by cold water. 1 

The numerous trials and executions for witchcraft form a dark 
page in history. Thousands of harmless old men and women 
were put to death on the charge of being leagued Witchcraft 
with the Devil. The most intelligent and humane P ersecutlons 
people believed in the reality of witchcraft. The witch epi- 

1 See page 384. 






520 


Medieval Civilization 


demic which broke out in America during the seventeenth cen¬ 
tury, reaching its height at Salem, Massachusetts, was simply a 
reflection of the European fear and hatred of witches. 

The Middle Ages inherited from antiquity the observance 
of unlucky days. They went under the name of “Egyptian 
Unlucky days days >” so called because it was held that on one 
of them the plagues had been sent to devastate 
the land of Egypt and on another Pharaoh and his host had 
been swallowed up in the Red Sea. Twenty-four days in the 
year were regarded as very unlucky. At such times one ought 
not to buy and sell, to build a house, to plant a field, to travel or, 
in fact, to undertake anything at all important. The belief 
in unlucky days gradually declined, but there still exists a prej¬ 
udice against fishermen starting out to fish, or seamen to take 
a voyage, or landsmen a journey, or domestic servants to enter 
a new place, on a Friday. 


193. Popular Amusements and Festivals 


It is pleasant to turn from the superstitions of the Middle 
Ages to the games, sports, and festivals which helped to make 
Indoor games ^ 6 a S reea t>le alike for rich and poor, for nobles 
and peasants. Some indoor games are of eastern 
origin. Chess, for instance, arose in India as a war game. On 
each side a king and his general, with chariots, cavalry, ele¬ 
phants, and infantry, met in battle array. These survive in 
the rooks, knights, bishops, and pawns of the modern game. 
Checkers is a sort of simplified chess, in which the pieces are 
all pawns, till they get across the board and become kings. 
Playing cards are another Oriental invention. They were 
introduced into Europe in the fourteenth century, either by 
the Arabs or the gypsies. Their first use seems to have been 
for telling fortunes. 


Many outdoor games are derived from those played in medie¬ 
val times. How one kind of game may become the parent of 

gam d e°s 0r ™ ny ° thers is Seen in the case of the ball-play. 

The ancients tossed and caught balls as children 
o now. They also had a game in which each side tried to secure 


Popular Amusements and Festivals 521 


the ball and throw it over the adversary’s goal line. This game 
lasted on into the Middle Ages, and from it football has de¬ 
scended. The ancients seem never to have used a stick or 
bat in their ball-play. The 
Persians, however, began 
to play ball on horseback, 
using a long mallet for the 
purpose, and introduced 
their new sport throughout 
Asia. Under the Tibetan 
name of pulu (“ball”) it 
found its way into Europe. 

When once the mallet had 
been invented for use on 
horseback, it could be easily 
used on foot, and so polo 
gave rise to the various 
games in which balls are hit 
with bats, including tennis, 
hockey, golf, cricket, base¬ 
ball, and croquet. 

The difference between 
our ideas of what consti¬ 
tutes “sport” and those of our ancestors is shown by the popu¬ 
larity of baiting. In the twelfth century bulls, bears, and even 
horses were baited. Cock-fighting formed another „ . . 

T ... . Baiting 

common amusement. It was not until the nine¬ 
teenth century that an English society for the prevention of 
cruelty to animals succeeded in getting a law passed which for¬ 
bade these cruel sports. Most other European countries have 
now followed England’s example. 

No account of life in the Middle Ages can well omit some 
reference to the celebration of festivals. Many festivals not 
of Christian origin were derived from the cere- Festivals 
monies with which the heathen peoples of Europe 
had been accustomed to mark the changes of the seasons. 
April Fool’s Day formed a relic of festivities held at the vernal 



Knights Playing Chess 





























































5 22 


Medieval Civilization 


equinox. May Day, another festival of spring, honored the 
spirits of trees and of all budding vegetation. The persons who 
acted as May kings and May queens represented these spirits. 
According to the original custom a new May tree was cut down 
in the forest every year, but later a permanent May pole was 
set up on the village common. On Midsummer Eve (June 23), 
which marked the summer solstice, came the fire festival, when 
people built bonfires and leaped over them, walked in procession 
with torches round the fields, and rolled burning wheels down 
the hillsides. These curious rites may have been once connected 

with sun worship. 
Hallow Eve, so 
called from being 
the eve of All 
Saints’ Day (No¬ 
vember 1), also 
seems to have 
been a survival 
of a heathen cele¬ 
bration. Witches 
and fairies were 
supposed to assemble on this night. Hallow Eve does not seem 
to have been a season for pranks and jokes, as in its present 
degenerate form. The festival of Christmas, coming at the 
winter solstice, kept some heathen features, such as the use of 
mistletoe with which Celtic priests once decked the altars of 



Bear Baiting 

From the Luttrell Psalter. 


their gods. The Christmas tree, however, is not a relic of 
heathenism. 

Young and old took part in the dances which accompanied 1 
village festivals. The Morris dance was very popular in medie- 
The Morris val England. The name, a corruption of Moorish, 
refers to its origin in Spain. The Morris dance 
was especially associated with May Day and was danced round 
a May pole to a lively and capering step. The performers 
represented Robin Hood, Maid Marian, his wife, Tom the Piper, 
and other traditional characters. On their garments they wore 
bells tuned to different notes, so as to sound in harmony. 






Popular Amusements and Festivals 523 

Mumming had a particular association with Christmas. 
Mummers were bands of men and women who disguised them¬ 
selves in masks and skins of animals and then 
serenaded people outside their houses. The Mum¬ 
mers often performed little plays in which Father Christmas, 
Old King Cole, and St. George were familiar figures. 




Mummers 

From a manuscript now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It was written and illuminated 
in the reign of Edward III. 


Many plays of a religious character came into vogue during 
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The earliest were the 
miracle plays. They presented in dramatic form pIays 

scenes from the Bible and stories of the saints or 
martyrs. The actors at first were priests, and the stage was 
the church itself or the churchyard. This religious setting did 
not prevent the introduction of clowns and buffoons. The 
miracle play after a time passed from the clergy to the 
guilds. All the guilds of a town usually gave an exhibition 
once a year. Each guild presented a single scene in the story. 
An exhibition might last for several days and have as 
many as fifty scenes, beginning at Creation and ending with 
Doomsday. 








5 2 4 


Medieval Civilization 


The miracle plays were followed by the “moralities.” They 
dealt with the struggle between good and evil, rather than with 
Morality theology. Characters such as Charity, Faith, 

plays Prudence, Riches, Confession, and Death appeared 

and enacted a story intended to teach moral lessons. Out of 
the rude “morality” and its predecessor, the miracle play, has 
grown the drama of modern times. 



A Miracle Play at Coventry, England 

The rude platform on wheels, which served as a stage, was drawn by apprentices to the 
market place. Each guild had its own stage. 


/SL94. Manners and Customs 

A previous chapter described some features of domestic life 
Dwellings * n cast ^ e an< ^ village during the age of feudalism. 

In England, where the Norman kings discouraged 
castle building, the manor house formed the ordinary residence 














































Manners and Customs 


5 2 5 


of the nobility. Even in Continental Europe many castles 
were gradually made over into manor houses after the .cessa¬ 
tion of feudal warfare. A manor house, however, was only less 
bare and inconvenient than a castle. It was still poorly lighted, 
ill-ventilated, and in winter scarcely warmed by the open wood 
fires. Improvements during the fourteenth century were the 
building of a fireplace at one or both ends of the manor hall, 
instead of in the center, and the substitution of glass windows 
for wooden shutters or oiled paper. 



Sulgrave Manor 


Sulgrave, in Northamptonshire, was the ancestral home of the Washington family. The 
manor house, built by Lawrence Washington about the middle of the sixteenth century, bears 
the family coat-of-arms on the porch. This historic dwelling has been purchased by an Eng¬ 
lish committee for preservation as a memorial of the friendship and blood-relationship between 
England and the United States. 


People in the Middle Ages, even the well-to-do, got along with 
little furniture. The great hall of a manor house contained a 
long dining table, with benches used at meals, and Furniture 
a few stools. The family beds often occupied 
curtained recesses in the walls, but guests might have to sleep 
on the floor of the manor hall. Servants often slept in the 
stables. Few persons could afford rugs to cover the floor; the 
poor had to put up with rushes. Utensils were not numerous, 
and articles of glass and silver were practically unknown, except 
in the houses of the rich. 



Medieval Civilization 


526 


The pictures in old manuscripts give us a good idea of medieval 
dress. It naturally varied with time and place, and according 
to the social position of the wearer. Laws were 
sometimes passed, without much result, to regu¬ 
late the quality, shape, and cost of the costumes to be worn by 
different orders of society. The moralists of the age were 
shocked, then as now, when tightly fitting garments, which 
showed the outlines of the body, became fashionable. The 



Interior of an English Manor House 


Shows the great hall of a manor house at Penshurst, Kent. The screen with the minstrels’ 
gallery over it is seen at the end of the hall, and in the center, the brazier for fire. Built about 
1340 A.D. 


inconvenience of putting them on led to the use, of buttons and 
buttonholes. Women’s headdresses were often of extraordinary 
height and shape. Not less remarkable were the pointed shoes 
worn by men. The points finally got so long that they hindered 
walking, unless tied by a ribbon to the knees. 

Medieval cookbooks show that people of means had all sorts 
of elaborate and expensive dishes. Dinner at a nobleman’s 
Food house might include as many as ten or twelve 

courses, mostly meats and game. Such things as 
hedgehogs, peacocks, sparrows, and porpoises, which would 



































Manners and Customs 


5 2 7 


hardly tempt the modern palate, were relished. Much use was 
made of spices in preparing meats and gravies, and also for 
flavoring wines. 

People in medieval times had no knives or forks and conse¬ 
quently ate with their fingers. Daggers also were employed to 
convey food to the mouth. Forks date from the Table 
end of the thirteenth century, but were adopted etiquette 
only slowly. Napkins were another table convenience unknown 
in the Middle Ages. 



A Bevy or Ladies 


Ale and beer formed the drink of the common people, taking 
the place of tea and coffee now. The upper classes regaled 
themselves on costly wines. Drunkenness was Drinldng 
common. It seems to have been a Teutonic 
characteristic. The Northmen were hard drinkers, and of the 
ancient Germans a Roman writer states that to pass an entire 
day and night in drinking disgraces no one.” 1 This habit of 
intoxication survived in medieval Germany, and the Anglo- 
Saxons and Danes introduced it into England. 

1 Tacitus, Germania, 22. 
























528 Medieval Civilization 

Studies 

t . Look up on the map between pages 412-413 the following places where Gothic 
cathedrals are found: Canterbury, York, Salisbury, Reims, Amiens, Charties, 
Cologne, Strasburg, Burgos, Toledo, and Milan. P2TTL.00k up on the map facing 
page 588 the location of the following medieval universities: Oxford, MojitpeUier, 
Paris, Orleans, Cologne, Leipzi g, Prague , Padua, and Salamanca. *3. Explain the 
following terms: scholasticism; canon law; alchemy; troubadours; Provencal 
language;., transept; choir; flying buttress; werewolf; and mumming.Who 
were St. Thomas Aquinas, Abelard, Gratian, Irnerius, and Roger Bacon? ^5. Show 
how Latin served as an international language in the Middle Ages. Name two arti¬ 
ficial languages which have been invented as a substitute for Latin. 6. What is 
meant by saying that “French is a mere patois of Latin”? * 7. In what parts of the 
world is English now the prevailing speech? 8. Why has Siegfried, the hero of the 
Nibelungenlied, been called the “Achilles of Teutonic legend”? 9. What produc¬ 
tions of medieval literature reflect aristocratic and democratic ideals, respectively? 
10. Distinguish between the Romanesque and Gothic styles of architecture. What 
is the origin of each term? n. Compare the ground plans of a Greek temple 
(page 291), a Roman basilica (page 284), and a Gothic cathedral (page 506). 

1 / 12. Contrast a Gothic cathedral with a Greek temple, particularly in regard 
to size, height, support of the roof, windows, and decorative features. 13. Why 
is there some excuse for describing a Gothic building as “a wall of glass with a roof 
of stone ” ? 14. Do you see any resemblance in structural features between a Gothic 

cathedral and a modern “sky-scraper”? Pi5. Mention some likenesses between 
medieval and modern universities. Pf6. Mention some important subjects of in¬ 
struction in modern universities which were not treated in those of the Middle Ages. 

17. Why has scholasticism been called “a sort of Aristotelian Christianity”? 

18. Look up the original meaning of the words “jovial,” “saturnine,” “mercurial,” 
“disastrous,” “contemplate,” and “consider.” 19. Show the indebtedness of 
chemistry to alchemy and of astronomy to astrology. 20. Mention some common 
folk tales which illustrate medieval superstitions.' 21. Why was Friday regarded 
as a specially unlucky day ? ' 22. Enumerate the most important contributions to 
civilization made during the Middle Ages. 


CHAPTER XXIV 
THE RENAISSANCE 1 


195. Meaning of the Renaissance 

The French word Renaissance means Rebirth or Revival. It 
all the changes in society, law, and 


is a convenient term for 
government, in science, philosophy, and 


. reli S ion ’ Transition 

and in literature and art which transformed medi- to modern 


eval civilization into that of modern times. The times 
Renaissance, just because of its traditional character, cannot be 
exactly dated. In general, it covers the fifteenth and sixteenth 
centuries. Many Renaissance movements, however, began 
much earlier. Among those which we have already noticed 
were the rise of strong national states, replacing feudalism as a 
system of government, the growth of cities, and the commercial 
progress which attended and followed the crusades. The 
Renaissance thus appears as a gradual development out of the 
Middle Ages, not as a sudden revolution. 

The name Renaissance applied, at first, only to the rebirth 
or revival of man’s interest in the civilization of classical an¬ 
tiquity. Italy was the original home of this original 
Renaissance. There it first appeared, there it home of^he 
found widest acceptance, and there it reached its 
highest development. The Renaissance spread from Italy be¬ 
yond the Alps, until it had made the round of western Europe. 

Italy was a land particularly favorable to the growth of learn¬ 
ing and the arts. The great cities of Milan, Pisa, Genoa^ 
Elqrence, Venice, and many others had early~suc- Italian c i t i es 
ceeded in throwing off their feudal burdens and 
had become independent, self-governing communi¬ 
ties. Democracy flourished in them, as in the old Greek 
city-states. Noble birth counted for little; a man of ability 

i Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xix, “A Scholar of 
the Renaissance”; chapter xx, “Renaissance Artists.” 

5 2 9 


530 


Renaissance 


and ambition might rise to any place. The fierce party 
conflicts within their walls stimulated mental activity and 
helped to make life full, varied, and intense. Their widespread 
trade and thriving manufactures made them prosperous. 
Wealth brought leisure, bred a taste for luxury and the refine¬ 
ments of life, and gave means for the gratification of that taste. 
People wanted to have about them beautiful pictures, statuary, 
furniture, palaces, and churches; and they rewarded richly the 
artists who could produce such things. It is not without sig¬ 
nificance that the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance was 
democratic, industrial, and wealthy Florence. 

Italy enjoyed another advantage over the other European 
countries in its nearness to Rome. Admiration for the ancient 
influence of Roman civilization, as expressed in literature, art, 

the classic and law, was felt by all Italians. Nor was the 

inheritance of Greece wholly lost. Greek traders 
and the descendants of Greek colonists in Italy still used their 
ancient language; all through the medieval centuries there were 
Italians who studied Greek. The classic tradition survived 
in Italy and defied oblivion. 

In the Middle Ages Italy formed a meeting place of several 
civilizations. Byzantine influence was felt both in the north 
and in the south. The conquest of Sicily by the 
Arabs made the Italians familiar with the science, 
art, and poetry of this cultivated people. After 
the Normans had established themselves in south¬ 
ern Italy and Sicily, they in turn developed a brilliant civi¬ 
lization. All these streams of cultural influence united in the 
Renaissance. 


Byzantine, 
Arabic, and 
Norman 
influence 


196. Revival of Learning in Italy 

The literature of Greece and Rome did not entirely disappear 
in western Europe after the Teutonic invasions. The monas- 
The classics ^ery and cathedral schools of the Middle Ages had 

Middle Ages nourished devoted students of ancient books. The 
Benedictine monks labored zealously in copying 
the works of pagan as well as Christian authors. The rise of 



GHIBERTI’S BRONZE DOORS AT FLORENCE 

The second or northern pair of bronze doors of the baptistery at Florence. Completed by 
Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1452 a.d., after twenty-seven years of labor. The ten panels-represent 
scenes from Old Testament history. Michelangelo pronounced these magnificent creations 
worthy to be the gates of paradise. 

































































Exterior 



Interior 


ST. PETER’S, ROME 

St. Peter's, begun in 1506 A.D., was completed in 1667, according to the designs of Bra- 
mante, Raphael, Michelangelo, and other celebrated architects. It is the largest church in 
the world. The central aisle, nave, and choir measure about 600 feet in length; the great 
dome, 140 feet in diameter, rises to a height of more than 400 feet. A double colonnade en¬ 
circles the piazza in front of the church. The Vatican is seen to the right of St. Peter’s. 



































Revival of Learning in Italy 531 

universities made it possible for the student to pursue a fairly 
extended course in Latin literature at more than one institution 
of learning. Greek literature, however, was little known in 
the West. The poems of Homer were read only in a brief Latin 
summary, and even Aristotle’s writings were studied in Latin 
translations. 

Reverence for the classics finds constant expression in the 
writings of the Italian poet Dante. He was a native of Florence, 
but passed many years of his life in exile. Dante’s 
most famous work, the Divine Comedy , describes Alighieri, 
an imaginary visit to the other world. Vergil 1265-1321 
guides him through the realms of Hell and Purga¬ 
tory until he meets his lady Beatrice, who conducts him through 
Paradise. The Divine Comedy gives in artistic verse an epitome 
of all that medieval men knew and hoped and felt: it is a 
mirror of the Middle Ages. At the same time it drew much 
of its inspiration from Graeco-Roman sources. Athens, for 
Dante, is the “hearth from which all knowledge glows”; 
Homer is the “loftiest of poets”; and Aristotle is the “mas¬ 
ter of those who know.” This feeling for classical antiquity 
entitles Dante to rank in some respects as a forerunner of the 
Renaissance. 

Dante exerted a noteworthy influence on the Italian language. 
He wrote the Divine Comedy, not in Latin, but in Dante and 
the vernacular Italian as spoken in Florence. The the Italian 
popularity of this work helped to give currency to lan £ uage 
the Florentine dialect, and in time it became the literary lan¬ 
guage of Italy. 

Petrarch, a younger contemporary of Dante, and like him a 
native of Florence, has been called the first modern scholar and 
man of letters. He devoted himself with tireless Petrarch) 
energy to classical studies, composing many Latin 1304-1374 
works and traveling widely in Italy and other 
countries in the search for ancient manuscripts. When he 
found in one place two lost orations of Cicero and in another 
place a collection of Cicero’s letters, he was transported with 
delight. He kept copyists in his house, at times as many as 


Renaissance 



Petrarch 

From a miniature in the Lau- 
rentian Library, Florence. 


532 

four, busily making transcripts of the manuscripts that he had 
discovered or borrowed. Petrarch knew almost no Greek. 

His copy of Homer, it is said, he often 
kissed, though he could not read it. 

Petrarch’s friend and disciple, Boc¬ 
caccio, was the first to bring to Italy 

Boccaccio, manuscripts of the Iliad 

1313-1375 and the Odyssey . Having 

AD ‘ learned some Greek, he 

wrote out a translation of those epic 
poems. Boccaccio’s fame rests, how¬ 
ever, on the Decameron . It is a collec¬ 
tion of one hundred stories written in 
Italian. They are supposed to be told 
by a merry company of men and women, 
who, during a plague at Florence, have 
retired to a villa in the country. The 
Decameron was one of the first impor¬ 
tant works in Italian prose. Many English writers, notably 
Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales , have gone to it for ideas and 
plots. 

The renewed interest in Latin literature, due to Petrarch, 
Boccaccio, and others, was followed by the revival of Greek 
Study of literature. Many learned Greeks came to Italy, 
especially after the capture of Constantinople 
in 1453 a.d., and they transplanted in the West 
the culture of the East. “Greece had not perished, but had 
emigrated to Italy.” 

The classics opened up a new world of thought and fancy to 
scholars. They were delighted by the fresh, original, and 
human ideas which they discovered in the pages 
of Homer, Plato, Cicero, Horace, and Tacitus. 
Their new enthusiasm for the classics came to be known as 
humanism, 1 or culture. The Greek and Latin languages and 
literatures were henceforth the “humanities,” as distinguished 
from the old scholastic philosophy and theology. 

1 Latin humanitas, from homo, “man.” 


Greek in 
Italy 


Humanism 



533 


Paper and Printing 

Humanism spread from Florence throughout Italy. At 
Milan and Venice, at Rome and Naples, men fell to poring over 
the classics. A special feature of the age was the Spread of 
recovery of ancient manuscripts from monasteries humanism 
and cathedrals, where they had often lain neglected 111 Italy 
and blackened with the dust of ages. Libraries were established 
for their safe-keeping, professorships of the ancient languages 
were endowed, and scholars were given opportunities to pursue 
researches. Even the popes shared in this zeal for humanism. 
One of them founded the Vatican Library at Rome, which has 
the most valuable collection of manuscripts in the world. At 
Florence the wealthy family of the Medici vied with the popes 
in the patronage of the new learning. 

197. Paper and Printing 

The revival of learning was greatly stimulated when printed 
books took the place of manuscripts laboriously copied by 
hand. The Chinese at a remote period made introduction 
paper from some fibrous material. The Arabs of P a P er 
seem to have been the first to make it out of flax and rags. 
The manufacture of paper in Europe was established by the 
Moors in Spain. The Arab occupation of Sicily introduced the 
art into Italy. Paper found a ready sale in Europe, because 
papyrus and parchment, which the ancients had used as writing 
materials, were both expensive and heavy. Men now had a 
material moderate in price, durable, and one that would easily 
receive the impression of movable type. 

The first step in the development of printing was the use of 
engraved blocks. Single letters, separate words, and some¬ 
times entire pages of text were cut in hard wood D eve i opm ent 
or copper. When inked and applied to writing of movable 
material, they left a clear impression. The second type 
step was to cast the letters in separate pieces of metal, all of 
the same height and thickness. These could then be arranged 
in any desired way for printing. 

Movable type had been used for centuries by the Chinese, 
Japanese, and Koreans in the East, and in Europe several 


Renaissance 


534 


printers have been credited with their invention. A German, 
Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, set up the first printing press 

with movable type about 



1450 A.D. 
Gutenberg 


and from it is¬ 
sued the first 
printed book. 
This was a Latin transla¬ 
tion of the Bible. 

The books printed in the 
fifteenth century go by the 
_ , , name of in- 

Incunabula 

cunabula. 

Of the seven or eight mil¬ 
lion volumes which ap¬ 
peared before 1500 a.d., 
about thirty thousand are 
believed to be still in ex¬ 
istence. Many of these 
earliest books were printed 
in heavy, “ black-letter ” 
type, an imitation of the 
characters used in monkish 
manuscripts. It is still re¬ 
tained for most books printed in Germany. The clearer and 
neater “Roman” characters, resembling the letters employed 
for ancient Roman inscriptions, came into use in southern 
Europe and England. Aldus Manutius, a famous Venetian 
printer, devised “italic” type, to enable the publisher to crowd 
more words on a page. He has also the credit for the intro¬ 
duction of punctuation marks. In ancient writings words were 
run together successively, without any indication of pause or 
break in the sentence. 

Printed books could be multiplied far more rapidly than 
Significance manuscripts copied by hand. They could also be 
of printing f ar more accurate than manuscripts, for, when an 


An Early Printing Press 

Enlarged from the printer’s mark of I. B. Ascen- 
sius. Used on the title pages of books printed by 
him, ISC7-IS3S a.d. 


1 A Latin word meaning “cradle’ 
thing. 


or “birthplace,” and so the beginning of any- 




























535 


Revival of Art in Italy 


entire edition was printed from the same type, mistakes in 
the different copies were eliminated. Furthermore, the inven¬ 
tion of printing destroyed the monopoly of learning possessed 
by the universities and people of wealth. Books were now the 
possession of the many, not the luxury of the few. Any one 
who could read had opened to him the gateway of knowledge; 



Thenne beganne agayne the bataylle of the one parte/And of the 
other Eneas ascryed to theym and sayd. Lordes why doo ye fyghte/ 
Ye knowe well that the couuenante ys deuysed and made/That Tumus 
and I shall fyghte for you alle/ 


Facsimile of Part of Caxton’s “^Eneid” (reduced) 

With the same passage in modern type. 


he became a citizen, henceforth, of the republic of letters. Print¬ 
ing, which made possible popular eJucafion, public libraries, 
and ultimately cheap newspapers, thus became a force emanci¬ 
pating mankind from bondage to ignorance. 

198. Revival of Art in Italy 

Gothic architecture, with its pointed arches, flying buttresses, 
and traceried windows, never struck deep roots in Italy. The 
architects of the Renaissance went back to Greek Architecture 
temples and Roman domed buildings for their 
models, just as the humanists went back to Greek and Latin 
literature. Long rows of Ionic or Corinthian columns, spanned 
by round arches, became again the prevailing architectural 
style. Perhaps the most important accomplishment of Renais¬ 
sance builders was the adoption of the dome, instead of the vault, 
for the roofs of churches. The majestic cupola of St. Peter’s 
at Rome, which is modeled after the Pantheon, has become the 
parent of many domed structures in the Old and New World. 1 

1 For instance, the Invalides in Paris, St. Paul’s in London, and the Capitol at 
Washington. 


Renaissance 


536 

Architects, however, did not limit themselves to churches. 
The magnificent palaces of Florence, as well as some of those 
in Venice, are among the monuments of the Renaissance era. 

The development of architecture naturally stimulated the 
other arts, Italian sculptors began to copy the ancient bas- 
reliefs and statues preserved in Rome and other 
Sculpture cities> At t y s t i me g i az ed terra cotta came to be 

used by sculptors. Another Renaissance art was the casting of 
bronze doors, with panels which represented scenes from the Bible. 

The greatest of Renaissance sculptors was Michelangelo. 
Though a Florentine by birth, he lived for most of his life in 
. Rome. A colossal statue of David, who looks 
1475-1564 like a Greek athlete, and another of Moses, seated 
and holding the table of the law, are among his 
best-known works. Michelangelo also won fame in architecture 
and painting. The dome of St. Peter’s was finished after his 
designs. Having been commissioned by one of the popes to dec¬ 
orate the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican, he painted 
a series of scenes which presented the Biblical story from the 
Creation to the Flood. These frescoes are unequaled for sub¬ 
limity and power. Michelangelo also painted in the same 
chapel his fresco of the “Last Judgment.” 

The early Italian painters contented themselves, at first, 
with imitating Byzantine mosaics and enamels. Their work 
Rise of exhibited little knowledge of human anatomy: 

Italian faces might be lifelike, but bodies were too slender 

painting and out 0 f proportion. The figures of men and 

women were posed in stiff and conventional attitudes. The 
perspective also was false: objects which the painter wished to 
represent in the background were as near as those which he 
wished to represent in the foreground. Italian painting finally 
abandoned the Byzantine style; achieved beauty of form, de¬ 
sign, and color to an extent hitherto unknown; and became at 
length the supreme art of the Renaissance. 

Italian painting began in the service of the Church and al¬ 
ways remained religious in character. Artists usually chose 
subjects from the Bible or the lives of the saints. They did 


Revival of Art in Italy 537 

not trouble themselves to secure correctness of costume, but 
represented ancient Jews, Greeks, and Romans in Characteris 
the garb of Italian gentlemen. Many of their tics of Italian 
pictures were frescoes, that is, the colors were mixed painting 
with water and applied to the plaster walls of churches and 
palaces. After the process of mix¬ 
ing oils with the colors was discov¬ 
ered, pictures on wood or canvas 
(easel paintings) became common. 

Renaissance painters excelled in 
portraiture. They were less suc¬ 
cessful with landscapes. 

Among the “old masters” of 
Italian painting four, besides 
Michelangelo, stand The “ old 
out with special masters” 
prominence. Leonardo da Vinci 
(145^-1519 a.d.) was architect, 
sculptor, musician, and engineer, 
as well as painter. His finest work, 
the “Last Supper,” a fresco paint¬ 
ing at Milan, is much damaged, 
but fortunately good copies of it 
exist. Paris has the best of his easel 
pictures — the “Monna Lisa.” a Fifteenth Century Organ 
Leonardo’s contemporary, Ra- The keys were so broad that they were 

phael (1483-1520 a.d.), died before whole hand ’ instead of by 

he was forty, but not before he 

had produced the “Sistine Madonna,” now at Dresden, the 
“Transfiguration,” in the Vatican Gallery at Rome, and many 
other famous compositions. Another artist, the Venetian Titian 
(1477 ?-i 576 a.d.), painted portraits unsurpassed for glowing 
color. His “Assumption of the Virgin”' ranks among the 
greatest pictures in the world. Lastly must be noted the ex¬ 
quisite paintings of Correggio (1494-1534 a.d.), among them 
the “Holy Night” and the “Marriage of St. Catherine.” 

Another modern art, that of music, arose in Italy during the 

































Renaissance 


53 8 

Renaissance. The three-stringed rebeck received a fourth string 
and became the violin, the most expressive of all musical in¬ 
struments. A forerunner of the pianoforte also 
Music appeared in the harpsichord. A papal organist and 

choir-master, Palestrina, was the first of the great composers. 
He gave music its fitting place in worship by composing melodi¬ 
ous hymns and masses still sung in Roman Catholic churches. 
The oratorio, a religious drama set to music but without action, 
scenery, or costume, had its beginning at this time. The opera, 
however, was little developed until the eighteenth century. 


199. Revival of Learning and Art beyond Italy 

Italy had led the way by recovering the long-buried treasures 

_ . . of the classics and by providing means for their 

Spread of x 

humanism in study. Scholars in Germany, France, and Eng- 
Eur ° p e lan( ^ who now had tlie 0 f the printing press, 

continued the intellectual movement and gave it widespread 
currency. 

The foremost humanist of the age was Desiderius Erasmus. 
Though a native of Rotterdam in Holland, he lived for a time 
in Germany, France, England, and Italy, and died 
Erasm™ 3 at Basel in Switzerland. His travels and exten- 
1466 (?)-i 536 sive correspondence brought him in contact with 
most of the leading scholars of the day. Eras¬ 
mus wrote in Latin many works which were read and enjoyed 
by educated men. He might be called the first really popular 
author in Europe. 

Erasmus performed his most important service as a Biblical 
critic. He published the New Testament in the original Greek, 
Greek Testa- a Batin translation and a dedication to the 

ment of pope. The only accessible edition of the New 
Erasmus Testament up to this time was the old Latin 
version known as the Vulgate, which St. Jerome had made 
near the close of the fourth century. The work of Erasmus 
led to a better understanding of the New Testament and made 
possible translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular 
tongues. “I long that the husbandman should sing portions 


MONNA LISA 

The Louvre, Paris 

This picture, also called La Gioconda, represents the wife of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s 
friends. The French king, Francis I, purchased it for a large sum during the artist s life¬ 
time. It is the inimitable masterpiece of portraiture. 




REMBRANDT AS AN OFFICER 

One of many portraits of himself painted by the great Dutch artist Rembrandt 

(1606-1669 A. D. ). 




The Renaissance in Literature 


539 



of them to himself as he follows the plough,” wrote Erasmus, 
“that the weaver should hum them to the tune of his shuttle, 
and that the traveler should 
beguile with their stories the 
weariness of his journey.” 

Italian architects found a 
cordial, reception in France, 

Spain, the Neth- The artistic 
erlands, and revival in 
other countries, Europe 
where they introduced Ren¬ 
aissance styles of building 
and ornamentation. The cele¬ 
brated palace of the Louvre 
in Paris, which is used to-day 
as an art gallery and museum, 
dates from the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury. The French nobles now 
began to replace their somber 
feudal dwellings by elegant 
country houses. Renaissance 
sculpture also spread beyond 

Italy throughout Europe. Painters in northern countries at first 
followed Italian models, but afterwards produced masterpieces 
of their own. 1 

200. The Renaissance in Literature 

The renewed interest in classical studies for a time retarded 
the development of national languages and literatures in Europe. 
Humanists considered only Latin and Greek as xhe 
worthy of attention. But a return to the vernacu- 
lar was bound to come. The common people 
understood little Latin, and Greek not at all. Yet they had 

■ A list of the great European painters would include at least the Mowing names: 
Dttrer (1471-1582 A.D.) and Hans Holbein the Younger ( 1407-1543 A.D.) in Ger¬ 
many; Rubens (1577-1640 a.d.) and Van Dyck (1509-1641 a d.) >” Flander =' 
Rembrandt (1606-1669 a.d.) in Holland; Claude Lorrame (1600-1682 **■) m 
France ; and Veldsquez (1599-1660 A.D.) and Munllo (1617-1682 A J>.) m Spam. 


Desiderius Erasmus 

Louvre, Paris 

A portrait by the German artist, Hans 
Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). Probably 
an excellent likeness of Erasmus. 











540 


Renaissance 


learned to read and they now had the printing press. Many 
books composed in Italian, Spanish, French, English, and other 
national languages before long made their appearance. This 
revival of the vernacular meant that henceforth European litera¬ 
ture would be more creative and original than was possible when 
writers merely imitated or translated the classics. The models 
provided by Greece and Rome still continued, however, to 
furnish inspiration to men of letters. 

The Florentine historian and diplomat, Machiavelli, by his 
book, The Prince , did much to found the modern science of 
Machiavelli politics. Machiavelli, as a patriotic Italian, felt 
1469-1527 infinite distress at the divided condition of Italy, 
where numerous petty states were constantly at 
war. In The Prince he tried to show how a strong, despotic 
ruler might set up a national state in the peninsula. He thought 
that such a ruler ought not to be bound by the ordinary rules of 
morality. He must often act “against faith, against charity, 
against humanity, and against religion.” The end would justify 
the means. Success was everything; morality, nothing. This 
dangerous doctrine has received the name of “Machiavellism.” 

Spain during the sixteenth century gave to the world in 
Cervantes the only Spanish writer who has achieved a great 
Cervantes, reputation outside his own country. Cervantes’s 

1547-1616 masterpiece, Don Quixote , seems to have been 

intended as a burlesque upon the romances of 
chivalry once so popular in Europe. The hero, Don Quixote, 
attended by his shrewd and faithful squire, Sancho Panza, rides 
forth to perform deeds of knight-errantry, but meets, instead, 
the most absurd adventures. The work is a vivid picture of 
Spanish life. Nobles, priests, monks, traders, farmers, inn¬ 
keepers, muleteers, barbers, beggars — all these pass before our 
eyes as in a panorama. Don Quixote immediately became popu¬ 
lar, and it is even more read to-day than it was three centuries 
ago. 

The Flemish writer, Froissart, deserves notice as a historian 
and as one of the founders of French prose. His Chronicles 
present an account of the fourteenth century, when the age of 


The Renaissance in Literature 


54i 


feudalism was fast drawing to an end. He admired chivalry 
and painted it in glowing colors. He liked to describe tourna¬ 
ments, battles, sieges, and feats 
of arms. Kings and nobles, 
knights and Froissart> 
squires, are the ac- 1337 (?)-l 4 lo 
tors on his stage. AD ‘ 

Froissart traveled in many 
countries and got much of his 
information at first 
hand from those who 
had made history. 

A very different sort 
of writer was the 
Frenchman, Mon¬ 
taigne. He lives to-day as the 
author of one hundred and 
seven essays, very Montaigne> 
delightful in style 1533-1592 
and full of wit and A ' D ' 
wisdom. Montaigne really in¬ 
vented the essay, a form of Geoffrey Chaucer 

literature in which he has had From an old manuscript in the British 
many imitators. Musernn London. The only existing por- 

J trait of Chaucer. 

Geoffrey Chaucer, who has 

been called the “morning star” of the English Renaissance, was 
a story-teller in verse. His Canterbury Tales are supposed to 
be told by a company of pilgrims, as they journey Chaucer> 
from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket at 1340 (?-) 
Canterbury. Chaucer describes freshly and with 
unfailing good spirits the life of the middle and upper classes. 
He does not reveal, any more than his contemporary Froissart, 
the labor and sorrows of the down-trodden peasantry. But 
Chaucer was a true poet, and his name stands high in England’s 
long roll of men of letters. 

This survey of the national authors of the Renaissance may 
fitly close with William Shakespeare, whose genius transcended 
































542 


Renaissance 


national boundaries and made him a citizen of all the world. 
His life is known to us only in barest outline. Born at 
Shakespeare Stratford-on-Avon, of humble parentage, he at- 
1564-1616 tended the village grammar school, where he learned 
A ' D ‘ “small Latin and less Greek,” went to London as a 

youth, and became an actor and a playwright. He prospered, 
made money both from his acting and the sale of his plays, and 
at the age of forty-four retired to Stratford for the rest of his life. 



The Globe, London — Shakespeare’s Theater 

After an engraving of the early seventeenth century. 


Here he died eight years later, and here his grave may still be 
seen in the village church. During his residence in London he 
wrote, in whole or in part, thirty-six or thirty-seven dramas, 
both tragedies and comedies. They were not collected and 
published until several years after his death. Shakespeare’s 
plays were read and praised by his contemporaries, but it has 
remained for modern men to see in him one who ranks with 
Homer, Vergil, Dante, and Goethe among the great poets of 
the world. 


















After the death mask. From the copper-plate engraved by Martin Droeshout for 

the First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s works in 1623. 


















































































- 

















- * 








9 








The Renaissance in Education 


543 


Renaissance poets and prose writers revealed themselves in 
their books. This personal note affords a sharp contrast to 
the anonymity of the Middle Ages. We do not p ersonality in 
know the authors of the Song of Roland , the Renaissance 
Nibelungenlied, and Reynard the Fox, any more Uterature 
than we know the builders of the Gothic cathedrals. Medieval 

Shakespeare’s Signature 


literature subordinated the individual; that of the Renaissance 
expressed the sense of individuality and man’s interest in himself. 
It was truly “ humanistic.” 

201. The Renaissance in Education 

The universities of the Middle Ages emphasized scholastic 
philosophy, though in some institutions law and medicine also 
received much attention. Greek, of course, was Humanism 
not taught, the vernacular languages of Europe and educa- 
were not studied, and neither science nor history tlon 
enjoyed the esteem of the learned. The Renaissance brought 
about a partial change in this curriculum. The classical lan¬ 
guages and literatures gained an entrance into university courses 
and displaced scholastic philosophy as the chief subject of in¬ 
struction. From the universities the study of the “humanities” 
descended to the lower schools. 

An Italian humanist, Vittorino da Feltre, was the pioneer of 
Renaissance education. In his private school at Mantua, the 
“ House of Delight,” as it was called, Vittorino V ittorino da 
aimed to develop at the same time the body, Feltre, 1378- 
mind, and character of his pupils, so as to fit them 
to “serve God in Church and State.” He gave much attention 
to religious instruction and also set a high value on athletics. 
The sixty or seventy young men under his care were taught to 
hunt and fish, to run and jump, to wrestle and fence, to walk 


Renaissance 


544 

gracefully, and above all things to be temperate. For intel¬ 
lectual training he depended on the Latin classics as the best 


ipr.rahcleWFi' 

0tufeteTFSHofi. 
fcllfrC ® QBiF cBi£ IBM 






a c i o u. 
ab efcnfcobub 
ac ec te at ut 
tb eh uO 


a e i o u 
ha be hi bo bu. i 
ca.ce tic© rtti 
Da|e hi bo& 


Ip of tf?$MtWr y $;w 

wrt, e d t&e^ol? (Bjofl, 

art infc 
t^p 4 S’"I 
kingdom m ~ 

he bone inCirtf; as it tsi;i JjJgf 
<$&» *u& this bap dtr m 
£nyfo?gihe ujnuftietj p 
, as toe h^gibed^itf®at trffp 


mam? u£< 


SltrUeab us not uu 
*5^|ib3r us fro? 


A Hornbook 


A child’s primer framed in wood and covered with a thin plate of transparent horn. It 
included the alphabet in small letters and in capitals, with vowel combinations and the Lord’s 
Prayer in English. This particular example was found at Oxford and is now in the Bodleian 
Library. 


means of introducing students to the literature, art, and philoso¬ 
phy of ancient times. Vittorino’s name is not widely known 
to-day; he left no writings, preferring, as he said, to live in the 





























The Scientific Renaissance 


545 

lives of his pupils; but there is scarcely a modern teacher who 
does not consciously or unconsciously follow his methods. 

A Moravian bishop named Comenius, who gave his long life 
almost wholly to teaching, stands for a reaction against human¬ 
istic education. He proposed that the vernacular Comenius 
tongues, as well as the classics, should be made 1592-1671 
subjects of study. For this purpose he prepared A D * 
a reading book, which was translated into a dozen European 
languages, and even into Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Come¬ 
nius also believed 
that the curricu¬ 
lum should in¬ 
clude the study 
of geography, 
world history, 
and government, 
and the practice 
of the manual 
arts. He was 
one of the first 
to advocate the 
teaching of 
science. Perhaps 
his most notable 
idea was that of 
a national system of education, reaching from primary grades 
to the university. “Not only,” he writes, “are the children of 
the rich and noble to be drawn to school, but all alike, rich and 
poor, boys and girls, in great towns and small, down to the 
country villages.” The influence of this Slavic teacher is more 
and more felt in modern systems of education. 

202. The Scientific Renaissance 

The Middle Ages were not by any means ignorant of science, 
but its study naturally received a great impetus when the 
Renaissance brought before educated men all that the Greeks 
and Romans had done in mathematics, physics, astronomy, 



Boys’ Sports 

An illustration in an old English edition (1659) of Come- 
nius’s Orbis Pictus (Illustrated World). This was the first picture 
book ever made for children, and for a century it remained the 
most popular school text in Europe. 














Renaissance 


546 


medicine, and other subjects. The invention of printing also 
fostered the scientific revival by making it easy to spread 
Humanism knowledge abroad in every land. The pioneers of 
and science Renaissance science were Italians, but students 
in France, England, Germany, and other countries soon took up 
the work of enlightenment. 

The first place among Renaissance scientists must be given 
to Copernicus, the founder of modern astronomy. He was a 
Copernicus ?o\e, but lived many years in Italy. Patient study 
1473-1543 and calculation led him to the conclusion that the 
AD ’ earth turns upon its own axis, and, together with 

the planets, revolves around the sun. The book in which he 
announced this conclusion did not appear until the very end of 
his life. A copy of it reached him on his deathbed. 

Medieval astronomers had generally accepted the Ptolemaic 
system . 1 Some students before Copernicus had indeed sug- 
The Coper- gested that the earth and planets might rotate 

nican theory about a central sun, but he first gave scientific 

reasons for such a belief. The new theory met much opposition, 
not only in the universities, which clung to the time-honored 
Ptolemaic system, but also among theologians, who thought 
that it contradicted statements in the Bible. Moreover, people 
could not easily reconcile themselves to the idea that the earth, 
instead of being the center of the universe, is only one mem¬ 
ber of the solar system, that it is, in fact, only one of many 
worlds. 

An Italian scientist, Galileo, made one of the first telescopes 
— it was about as powerful as an opera glass — and turned it on 
Galileo the heavenly bodies with wonderful results. He 

1564-1642 found the sun moving unmistakably on its axis, 

Venus showing phases according to her position in 
relation to the sun, Jupiter accompanied by revolving moons, 
or satellites, and the Milky Way composed of a multitude of 
separate stars. Galileo rightly believed that these discoveries 
confirmed the theory of Copernicus. 

Another man of genius, the German Kepler, worked out the 

1 See page 133 . 


The Scientific Renaissance 


547 


mathematical laws which govern the movements of the planets. 
He made it clear that the planets revolve around Kepler, 1571- 
the sun in elliptical instead of circular orbits. 1630 A D> 
Kepler’s investigations afterwards led to the discovery of the 
principle of gravitation. 

Two other scientists did epochal work in a field far removed 
from astronomy. Vesalius, a Fleming, who studied in Italian 
medical schools, gave to 
the world the first careful 
description Vesalius> 
of the * hu- 1514-1564 
man body Harvey , 

based on 1578-1657 

actual dis- AD * 
section. He was thus the 
founder of human anat¬ 
omy. Harvey, an Eng¬ 
lishman, after observing 
living animals, announced 
the discovery of the cir¬ 
culation of the blood. 

He thereby founded hu¬ 
man physiology. 

Copernicus, Galileo, Galileo 

Kepler, Vesalius, Harvey, 

and their fellow workers built up the scientific method. Students 
in the Middle Ages had mostly been satisfied to accept what 
Aristotle and other philosophers had said, without The 
trying to prove their statements. Kepler, for in- scientific 
stance, was the first to disprove the Aristotelian 
idea that, as all perfect motion is circular, therefore the heavenly 
bodies must move in circular orbits. Similarly, the world had to 
wait many centuries before Harvey showed Aristotle’s error m 
supposing that the blood arose in the liver, went thence to the 
heart, and by the veins was conducted over the body. The 
new scientific method rested on observation and experiment. 
Students learned at length to take nothing for granted, to set 









Renaissance 


548 

aside all authority, and to go straight to nature for their facts. 
As Lord Bacon , 1 one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries and a 
severe critic of the old scholasticism, declared, “All depends on 
keeping the eye steadily fixed upon the facts of nature, and so 
receiving their images simply as they are, for God forbid that 
we should give out a dream of our own imagination for a pattern 
of the world.” Modern science, to which we owe so much, is 
a product of the Renaissance. 

203. The Economic Renaissance 

The Renaissance, thus far, has been studied as an intellectual 
and artistic movement, which did much to liberate the human 
An economic mind and brought the Middle Ages to an end in 
change literature, in art, and in science. It is necessary, 

however, to consider the Renaissance era from another point of 
view. During this time an economic change of vast significance 
was taking place in rural life all over western Europe. We 
refer to the decline and ultimate extinction of medieval serfdom. 

Serfdom imposed a burden only less heavy than the slavery 
which it had displaced. The serf, as has been shown , 2 might 
Decline of n °t leave the manor on which he was born, he 

serfdom might not sell his holdings of land, and, finally, 

he had to give up a large part of his time to work without pay 
for the lord of the manor. This system of forced labor was at 
once unprofitable to the lord and irksome to his serfs. After 
the revival of trade and industry in the twelfth and thirteenth 
centuries had brought more money into circulation , 3 the lord 
discovered how much better it was to hire men to work for 
him, as he needed them, instead of depending on serfs who 
shirked their tasks as far as possible. The latter, in turn, 
were glad to pay the lord a fixed sum for the use of land, since 
now they could devote themselves entirely to its cultivation. 

The emancipation of the peasantry was hastened, strangely 
enough, as the result of perhaps the most terrible calamity that 

1 Not to be confused with his countryman, Roger Bacon, who lived in the thir¬ 
teenth century. See page 514. 

2 See page 398. 


3 See page 489. 


The Economic Renaissance 


549 


has ever afflicted mankind. About the middle of the fourteenth 
century a pestilence of Asiatic origin, now known to have been 
the bubonic plague, reached the West. The The “ Black 
“Black Death,” so called because among its symp- Death 
toms were dark patches all over the body, moved steadily 
across Europe. The way for its ravages had been prepared by 
the unhealthful conditions of ventilation and drainage in towns 
and cities. After attacking Greece, Sicily, Italy, Spain, France, 
and Germany, the plague entered England in 1349 a.d. and 
within less than two years swept away probably half the popu¬ 
lation of that country. The mortality elsewhere was enormous, 
one estimate setting it as high as twenty-five millions for all 
Europe. 

The pestilence in England, as in other countries, caused a 
great scarcity of labor. For want of hands to bring in the 
harvests, crops rotted on the ground; while sheep Effects 0 f t he 
and cattle, with no one to care for them, strayed 
through the deserted fields. .The free peasants 
who survived demanded and received higher wages. Even 
the serfs, whose labor was now more valued, found themselves 
in a better position. The lord of a manor, in order to keep 
his laborers, would often allow them to substitute money pay¬ 
ments for personal services. When the serfs got no concessions, 
they frequently took to flight and hired themselves to the high¬ 
est bidder. 

The governing classes of England, who at this time were 
mainly landowners, believed that the workers were taking an 
unfair advantage of the situation. Parliament Eirst statute 
accordingly passed a law fixing the maximum 

wage in different occupations and punishing with-.•* 

imprisonment those who refused to accept work when it was 
offered to them. The fact that Parliament had to reenact this 
law thirteen times within the next century shows that it did not 
succeed in preventing a general rise of wages. 

A few years after the first Statute of Laborers the restlessness 
and discontent among the masses led to a serious outbreak. It 
was one of the few attempts at violent revolution which the 



550 


Renaissance 


■ *4 

t\vv 



‘When Adam Delved and 
Eve Span” 

From a manuscript of the time of 
John Ball. 


English working people have made. One of the inspirers of 
the rebellion was a wandering priest named John Ball. He went 

about preachinf^TSaT all goods 
should be held in common and the 
Th distinction between 

Peasants’ lords and serfs wiped 

Rebellion, away. “ When Adam 

delved and Eve span, 
who was then the gentleman? ” 
asked John Ball. Uprisings oc¬ 
curred in nearly every part of Eng¬ 
land, but the one in Kent had most 
importance. The rioters marched 
on London and presented their de¬ 
mands to the youthful king, Richard 
II. He promised to abolish serfdom 
and to give them a free pardon. 
As soon, however, as Richard had gathered an army, he put 
down the revolt by force and hanged John Ball and about a 
hundred of his followers. 

The rebellion in England may be compared with the far 
more terrible Jacquerie 1 in France, a few years earlier. The 
The French peasants, who suffered from feudal oppres- 

jacquerie, sion and the effects of the Hundred Years’ War, 
raged through the land, burning the castles and 
murdering their feudal lords. The movement had scarcely 
any reasonable purpose; it was an outburst of blind passion. 
The nobles avenged themselves by slaughtering the peasants 
in great numbers. 

Nevertheless, the emancipation of the peasantry went on 
steadily throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 
Extinction of Serfdom by 1500 a.d. had virtually disappeared 
serfdom. [ n Italy, in most parts of France, and in England. 
Some less-favored countries retained serfdom much longer. 
Prussian, Austrian, and Russian serfs did not receive their free¬ 
dom until the nineteenth century. 

1 From Jacques, a common French name for a peasant. 










The Economic Renaissance 551 

The extinction of serfdom was, of course, a forward step in 
human freedom, but the lot of the English and Continental 
peasantry long remained wretched. The poem condition of 
of Piers Plowman , written in the time of Chaucer, the peasantry 
shows the misery of the age and reveals a very different picture 
than that of the gay, holiday-making, merry England seen in 
the Canterbury Tales. One hundred and fifty years later the 
English humanist, Sir Thomas More, a friend of Erasmus, 
published his Utopia as a protest against social abuses. Utopia , 
or “Nowhere,” is an imaginary country, whose inhabitants 
choose their own rulers, hold all property in common, and work 
only nine hours a day. In Utopia a public system of education 
prevails, cruel punishments are unknown, and every one enjoys 
complete freedom to worship God. This remarkable book, 
though it pictures an ideal commonwealth, really anticipates 
many social reforms of the present time. 


Studies 

1. Prepare a chronological chart showing the leading men of letters, artists, 
scientists, and educators mentioned in this chapter. 2. For what were the follow¬ 

ing persons noted: Vittorino da[|ekre| Gutenberg; Boccaccio; Machiavelli; 
Harvey; and Galileo? 3. How did the words “machiavellism” and “utopian” 
get their present meanings? 4. Distinguish and define the three terms, Renais¬ 
sance,” “Revival of Learning,” and “Humanism.” 5 - “Next to the discovery of 
the New World, the recovery of the ancient world is the second landmark that 
divides us from the Middle Ages and marks the transition to modern life.” Com¬ 
ment on this statement. 6. Why did the Renaissance begin as “an Italian 
event”? 7. “City-states have always proved favorable to culture. Illustrate 
this remark. 8. Why was the revival of Greek more important in the history of 
civilization than the revival of Latin? 9. Show that printing was an “emancipating 
force ” 10 With what paintings by the “old masters” are you familiar? n. How 

does the opera differ from the oratorio? 12. Why has Froissart been styled the 
“French Herodotus”? 13. How many of Shakespeare’s plays can you name? 
How many have you read? 14. Can you mention any of Shakespeare’s plays which 
are founded on Italian stories or whose scenes are laid in Italy? 15. Why did the 
classical scholar come to be regarded as the only educated man? 16. In what re¬ 
spects is the American system of education a realization of the ideals of Comemus? 

17. Did the medieval interest in astrology retard or further astronomical research. 

18. How did the discoveries of Galileo and Kepler confirm the Copernican theory? 
iq. What is meant by the “emancipation of the peasantry”? 


CHAPTER XXV 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION 1 


204. Medieval Geography 

There was also a geographical Renaissance. The revival of 
exploration led to the discovery of ocean routes to the Far 
The East and the Americas. In consequence, com- 

geographical merce was vastly stimulated, and two continents, 
Renaissance hitherto unknown, were opened up to civilization. 
The geographical Renaissance, which gave man a New World, 
thus cooperated with the other movements of the age in bring¬ 
ing about the transition from medieval to modern times. 

The Greeks and Romans had been familiar with a large 
part of Europe and Asia, but much of their learning was either 
Medieval forgotten or perverted during the early Middle 
ignorance of Ages. Even the wonderful discoveries of the 
geography Northmen in the North Atlantic gradually faded 
from memory. The Arabs, whose conquests and commerce 
extended over so much of the Orient, far surpassed the Chris¬ 
tian peoples of Europe in knowledge of the world. 

The crusades, which were followed by pilgrimages and 
missions in Oriental lands, helped to increase geographical knowl- 
Opening up edge. With the pilgrims and missionaries went 
of Asia numerous merchants, who brought back to Europe 

the wealth of the East. The result was to open up countries 
beyond the Euphrates which had remained sealed to Europe 
for centuries. This discovery of the interior of Asia had only 
less importance than that of the New World two centuries later. 

What specially drew explorers eastward was the belief that 
somewhere in Asia existed a great Christian kingdom which, 

1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xxi, “The Travels 
of Marco Polo”; chapter xxii, “The Aborigines of the New World.” 

552 



The World according to Cosmas Indicopleustes, 535 a.d. 



The Cosmas map exhibits the earth as a rectangle, surrounded by an oeean with four deep 
eulfs The rivers flowing from the lakes of Paradise are also shown. The Hereford p 
exhibits the earth as a circular disk, with the ocean surround,ng it. P“a*s« l.es on e ex¬ 
treme east; Jerusalem occupies the center; and below it comes the Mediterranean. 

553 



























































554 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 


if allied to European Christendom, might attack the Moslems 
from the rear. # According to one form of the story the king- 
Legendof dom consisted of the Ten Tribes of Israel, 1 who 
Prester John had been converted to Christianity. Over them 
reigned a priest-king named Prester (or Presbyter) John. 
The popes made several attempts to communicate with this 
mythical ruler and sent Franciscan friars to find him in the 
heart of Asia. The friars returned to Europe with marvelous 
tales of the wealth and splendor of the East under the Mongol 
emperors. 

The most famous of all medieval travelers were Nicolo and 
Maffeo Polo, and Nicolo’s son, Marco. These Venetian mer¬ 
chants made an adventurous journey to the court 
the 6 East° S m of Kublai Khan at Peking. 2 The Mongol ruler, 

1271-1295 w h 0 seems to have been anxious to introduce 
A.D. 

Christianity and European culture among his 
people, received them in a friendly manner, and they amassed 
much wealth by trade. Marco entered the khan’s service and 
went on several expeditions to distant parts of the Mongol realm. 
Many years passed before Kublai would allow his useful guests 
to return to Europe. They sailed at length from Zaitun, a 
Chinese seaport, skirted the coast of southeastern Asia and India, 
and then made their way overland to the Mediterranean. 
When the travelers reached Venice after an absence of twenty- 
four years, their relatives were slow to recognize in them the 
long-lost Polos. 3 

The story of the Polos, as written down at Marco’s dictation, 
became one of the most popular works of the Middle Ages. 
Marco Europe read in this book of far Cathay (China), 

Polo’s book with, its wealth, huge cities, and swarming popu¬ 
lation, of mysterious and secluded Tibet, of Burma, Siam, 
and Cochin-China, with their palaces and pagodas, of the East 
Indies, famed for spices, of Ceylon, abounding in pearls, and 
of India, little known since the days of Alexander the Great. 
Even Cipango (Japan) Marco described from hearsay as an 

1 See page 35. 2 See page 442. 

3 For Marco Polo’s route see the map facing page 442. 



555 


Aids to Exploration 

island whose people were white, civilized, and so rich in gold 
that the royal palace was roofed and paved with that metal. 
The accounts of these countries naturally made Europeans more 
eager than ever to reach the East. 

205. Aids to Exploration 

The new knowledge gained by European peoples about the 
land routes of Asia was accompanied by much progress in the 
art of ocean navigation. The most important The com- 
invention was the mariner’s compass. The P ass 
Chinese appear to have discovered that a needle, when rubbed 
with a lodes tone, has the myste¬ 
rious power of pointing to the 
north. The Arabs may have in¬ 
troduced this rude form of the 
compass among Mediterranean 
sailors. The instrument, improved 
by being balanced on a pivot so 
that it would not be affected by 
choppy seas, seems to have been 
generally used by Europeans as 
early as the thirteenth century. 

It enabled sailors to find their 
bearings even in murky weather 
and on starless nights. 

The astrolabe, which the Greeks 
had invented and used for astronomical purposes, also came into 
Europe through the Arabs. It was employed to calculate 
latitudes by observation of the height of the sun Nautical in- 
above the horizon. Other instruments that found struments 
a place on shipboard were the hour-glass, minute-glass, and 
sun-dial. A rude form of the log was used as a means of 
estimating the speed of a vessel, and so of finding roughly the 
longitude. 

The charting of coasts became a science during the last 
centuries of the Middle Ages. A sailor might rely on the 
“handy maps” ( portolani ), which outlined with some approach 







556 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

to accuracy the bays, islands, and headlands of the Mediter¬ 
ranean and adjacent waters. Manuals were prepared to give 
other im- information about the tides, currents, and other 
provements features of sea routes. The increase in size of ships 
m navigation mac i e nav ig a ti 0 n safer and permitted the storage 
of bulky cargoes. Fot long voyages the sailing vessel replaced 
the medieval galley rowed by oars. Navigators no longer 
found it necessary to keep close to the shore, but could push 
out into the open sea. 

The needs of commerce largely account for early exploring 
voyages. Eastern spices — cinnamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, 
Commercial and g in g er — were used more freely in medieval 
motive for times than now, when people lived on salt meat 
exploration during the winter and salt fish during Lent. 
When John Ball wished to contrast the easy life of the lords 
with the peasants’ hard lot, he said, “They have wines, spices, 
and fine bread, while we have only rye and the refuse of the 
straw.” 1 Precious stones, drugs, perfumes, gums, dyes, and 
fragrant woods also came from the East. Since the time of the 
crusades these luxuries, after having been brought overland to 
Mediterranean ports, had been distributed by water by Venetian 
and Genoese merchants throughout Europe. Two other Euro¬ 
pean peoples the Portuguese and Spaniards — now appeared 
as competitors for this Oriental trade. Their efforts to break 
through the monopoly enjoyed by the Italian cities led to the 
discovery of the sea routes to the Indies. The Portuguese 
were first in the field. 

206. To the Indies Eastward: Prince Henry and 
Da Gama 

Few names rank higher in the history of the fifteenth century 
Prince than that of Prince Henry, commonly called the 

Navigator, Navigator, because of his services to the cause of 
1394-1460 exploration. This son of a Portuguese king gave 

A - D - up a military career and for more than forty years 

devoted his wealth, learning, and enthusiasm to geographical 

1 Froissart, Chronicles, ii, 73 . 


To the Indies Eastward 


557 


discovery. Under his direction better maps were made, the 
astrolabe was improved, the compass was placed on vessels, 
and seamen were instructed in all the nautical knowledge of 
the time. The problem which Prince Henry studied and which 
Portuguese sailors finally solved was the possibility of a mari¬ 
time route around Africa to the Indies. 



Portuguese Exploration oe the African Coast 


The expeditions sent out by Prince Henry began by redis¬ 
covering the Madeira Islands and the Azores, first visited by 
Europeans in the fourteenth century but sub- Exploration 
sequently forgotten. The Portuguese then turned 0 f the 
southward along the uncharted African coast, ^™ c t an 
toward waters which no ship had entered since 
the time of the Phoenicians. They soon got as far as Cape 
Verde, or “ Green Cape,” so called because of its luxuriant 
vegetation. The discovery was important, for it disposed of 
the idea that the Sahara desert extended indefinitely to the 




































558 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

south. Later voyages brought the Portuguese to Sierra Leone, 
then to the great bend in the African coast formed by the Gulf 
of Guinea, then across the equator, and at length to the mouth 
of the Congo. In 1487 a.d. Bartholomew Diaz rounded the 
southern extremity of Africa. The story goes that he named it 
the Cape of Storms, and that the king of Portugal, recognizing 

its importance as a stage on the 
route to the East, rechristened it 
the Cape of Good Hope. 

A daring mariner, Vasco da 
Gama, opened the sea-gates to 
the Indies. He set 
sail from Lisbon 
with four tiny ships 
and after leaving 
the Cape. Verde Islands made a 
wide sweep into the South At¬ 
lantic. Five months passed be¬ 
fore' Africa was seen again. Da 
Gama doubled the Cape of Good 
Hope in safety, skirted the east¬ 
ern shore of Africa, and at 
length secured the services of a 
Moslem pilot to guide him across 
the Indian Ocean. In 1498 a.d., 
he reached Calicut, an important 
commercial city on the southwest coast of India. When Da 
Gama returned to Lisbon, after an absence of over two years, 
he brought, back a cargo which repaid sixty times the cost of 
the expedition. The Portuguese king received him with high 
honor and created him Admiral of the Indies. 

The story of Da Gama’s memorable voyage was sung by 
the Portuguese poet, Camoens, in the Lusiads. It 
is the most successful of all modern epics. The 
popularity of this work has done much to keep 
alive the sense of nationality among the Portu¬ 
guese, and even to-day it forms a bond of union between 



Vasco da Gama 
F rom a manuscript in the British 
Museum. 


Camoens, 
1524-1580 
A.D., and 
the Lusiads 








The Portuguese Colonial Empire 


559 


Portugal and her daughter-nation across the Atlantic — 
Brazil. 

The discovery of an ocean passage to the East came at the 
right moment. The Ottoman Turks just at this time were 
beginning to block up the old trade routes. 1 significance 
Their conquests in Asia Minor and southeastern of the mari- 
Europe, during the fifteenth century, shut out time route 
the Italians from the northern route through the ^Egean and 
the Black Sea. After Syria and Egypt were conquered, early 
in the sixteenth century, the central and southern routes also 
passed under Turkish control. The Ottoman advance struck 
a mortal blow at the prosperity of the Italian cities, which had 
so long monopolized Oriental trade. The misfortune of Venice 
and Genoa was the opportunity of Portugal. 

207. The Portuguese Colonial Empire 

The Portuguese after Da Gama’s voyage made haste to 
appropriate the wealth of the Indies. Fleet after fleet was 
sent out to establish trading stations upon the Portuguese 
coast of Africa and Asia. The great viceroy, ascendancy 
Albuquerque, captured the city of Goa and made in e as 
it the center of the Portuguese dominions in India. Albuquerque 
also seized Malacca, at the end of the Malay Peninsula, and 
Ormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The possession 
of these strategic points enabled the Portuguese to control the 
commerce of the Indian Ocean. They also established trading 
relations with China, and even with Japan. 2 

The Portuguese came to the East as the successors of the 
Arabs, who for centuries had carried on an exten- Portuguese 
sive trade in the Indian Ocean. Having dis- trade 
possessed the Arabs, the Portuguese took care to monopoly 
shut out all European competitors. Only their own mer- 

1 See page 488. . 

2 The Portuguese colonial empire included Ormuz, the west coast of India, Ceylon, 
Malacca, and various possessions in the Malay Archipelago (Sumatra, Java, Celebes, 
the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, and New Guinea). The Portuguese also had many 
trading posts on the African coast, besides Brazil, which one of their mariners dis¬ 
covered in 1500 a.d. See the map between pages 560-561. 



560 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

chants were allowed to bring goods from the Indies to Europe 
by the Cape route. Lisbon, the capital, formed the chief 
depot for spices and other eastern commodities. The French, 
English, and Dutch went there to buy them and took the place 
of Italian merchants in distributing them throughout Europe. 

The triumph of Portugal was short-lived. This small 

country, with a population of not more than a million, lacked 

„ „ the strength to defend her claims to a monopoly 

Collapse °. ^ J 

of the of the Oriental trade. During the seventeenth 

Empire 1686 century the French and English broke the power 
of the Portuguese in India, while the Dutch drove 
them from Ceylon and the East Indies. The Portuguese now 
have only a few colonies in the East. 

208. To the Indies Westward: Columbus and 
Magellan 

Six years before Vasco da Gama cast anchor in the harbor of 
Calicut, another intrepid sailor, seeking the Indies by a west- 
The ern route, accidentally discovered America. It 

globular does not detract from the glory of Columbus to 

show that the way for his discovery had been 
long in preparation. In the first place, the theory that the 
earth is round had been familiar to the Greeks and Romans, 
and to some learned men even in the darkest period of the 
Middle Ages. The awakening of interest in Greek science, as 
a result of the Renaissance, called renewed attention to the 
statements about the sphericity of the earth by Ptolemy and 
other ancient geographers. 

In the second place, men had long believed that west of 
Europe, beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, lay mysterious lands. 
Myth of This notion first appears in the writings of the 
Atlantis Greek philosopher, Plato, who repeats an old 
tradition concerning Atlantis. According to Plato, Atlantis 
had been an island continental in size, but more than nine 
thousand years before his time it had sunk beneath the sea. 
Medieval writers accepted this account as true and found 
support for it in traditions of other western islands, such as 


















































































. 
















































































































































I' 














































































To the Indies Westward 561 

the Isles of the Blest, where Greek heroes went after death, 
and the Welsh Avalon, whither King Arthur, after his last 
battle, was borne to heal his wounds. A popular legend of 
the Middle Ages also described the visit made by St. Brandan, 
an Irish monk, to the “promised land of the Saints,” an earthly 
paradise far out in the Atlantic. St. Brandan’s Island was 



’marked on early maps, and voyages in search of it were some¬ 
times undertaken. 

The ideas of European geographers in the period just pre¬ 
ceding the discovery of America are represented Behaim’s 
on a map, or rather a globe, which dates from £ lobe 
1492 a.d. It was made by a German navigator, Martin Behaim, 

























562 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

for his native city of Nuremberg, where it is still preserved. 
Behaim shows the mythical island of St. Brandan, lying in 
mid-ocean, and beyond it Japan (Cipango), the East Indies, 
China (Cathay), and India. It is clear that he greatly under¬ 
estimated the distance westward between Europe and Asia. 
The error was natural enough, for Ptolemy had reckoned the 
earth’s circumference to be about one-sixth less than it is, 

and Marco Polo had given an 
C Qiomvj ttCVRMOV .OMB KEfTOK exaggerated j dea of ^ distance 

to which Asia extended on the 
east. When Columbus set out 
on his voyage, he firmly believed 
that a journey of a few thousand 
miles would bring him to Cipango 
and Cathay. 

Christopher Columbus was a 
native of Genoa, where his father 
Columbus, followed the humble 
1446 (?)-i 506 trade of a weaver. 

He seems to have 
received some education in the 
schools of his native town, but 
at an early age he became a 
Columbus knew the 
Mediterranean by heart; he 
once went to the Guinea coast; 
and he may have visited Iceland. 
He settled at Lisbon as a map- 
maker and married a daughter of one of Prince Henry’s sea- 
captains. As Columbus pored over his maps and charts and 
talked with Portuguese navigators about their voyages, the idea 
came to him that much of the world remained undiscovered 
and that the distant East could be reached by a shorter route 
than that which led around Africa. 

Columbus was a well-read man, and in Aristotle, Ptolemy, 
and other ancient authorities he found apparent confirmation 
of his grand idea. Columbus also owned a printed copy of 



Christopher Columbus 

Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid 
This is the so-called Yanez portrait, pur¬ 
chased in 1763 and named in honor of its sailor 
former owner. It is the oldest canvas rep¬ 
resentation of Columbus known to exist in 
Spain. However, no one of the many por¬ 
traits of Columbus that have come down to 
us is surely authentic. 



To the Indies Westward 563 

Marco Polo’s book, and from his comments, written on the 
margin, we know how interested he was in Polo’s Researches 
statements referring to Cathay and Cipango. ° f ohimbug 
Furthermore, Columbus brought together all the 
information he could get about the fabled islands of the 
Atlantic. If he ever 
went to Iceland, 
some vague tradi¬ 
tions may have 
reached him there of 
Norse voyages to 
Greenland and Vin- 
land. Such hints 
and rumors strength¬ 
ened his purpose to 
sail toward the set¬ 
ting sun in quest of 
the Indies. 

All know the story 
of the first voyage of 
Columbus. How he laid his plans before the king of Portugal, 
only to meet with rebuffs; how he then went to Spam and 
after many discouragements found a patron in First voya g e 
Queen Isabella; how with three small ships he °^ ol “™ bus ’ 
set out from Palos ; how after leaving the Canaries 
he sailed week after week over an unknown sea; and how at 
last he sighted the glittering coral strand of one of the Bahama 
Islands. 1 It was an outpost of the New World.. 

Columbus made three other Atlantic voyages, in the course 
of which he explored the Caribbean Sea, the mouth of the 
Orinoco River, and the eastern coast of Central Subsequent 
America. But no glimpse of the long-sought voyages^ 
empire of the Great Khan rewarded the efforts 
of Columbus, and he died without realizing that he had found, 
not Asia, but America. 

1 Named San Salvador by Columbus and usually identified with Watling Island. 
See the map, page 572. 



The “Santa Maria,” Flagship of Columbus 

After the model reproduced for the Columbian Exposition 
at Chicago, 1893. 





564 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

The New World was named for a Florentine navigator, 
Amerigo Vespucci. 1 While in the Spanish service he undertook 
Naming of several western voyages and printed an account 
America 0 f hj s discovery of the mainland of America in 

1497 a.d. Scholars now generally reject his statements, but 
they found acceptance at the time, and it was soon suggested 
that the new continent should be called America, “ because 
Americus discovered it.” The name referred at first only to 
South America, but eventually it was applied to the northern 
continent as well. 

Nuncvero &fte£ partes fiintlatms luftrafce/ 8C 
alia quarta pats per America Vefpuriumc Vt inie# 
-CdB quentibus audietuDinuenta eftrqua non video cur 
■fime* quis iurevetet ab America inuentore fagads inge 
*ico jnrj viroAmerigen quaG Ameridterram/iiiie Ame 

ricamdicendamtcum 8C Europa St Afta a mulieri* 
bus fuaforritafint nominaEius fitu 8c gentis mo# 
res exiistinisLAmeridnauigarioiiibusqug (equS 
tlirliquideintdligldatut. 

The Name “America” 

Facsimile of the passage in the Cosmographies, Introductio (1507), by Martin Waldseemiiller, 
in which the name “America” is proposed for the New World. 

Shortly after the return of Columbus from his first voyage, 
Pope Alexander VI, in response to a request by Ferdinand and 
The demar- Isabella, issued several bulls granting these 
cation line, sovereigns exclusive rights over the newly dis¬ 
covered lands. In order that the Spanish posses¬ 
sions should be clearly marked off from the Portuguese, the pope 
laid down an imaginary line of demarcation in the Atlantic, 
three hundred miles west of the Azores and the Cape Verde 
Islands. All new discoveries west of the line were to belong 
to Spain; all those east of it, to Portugal. 2 This arrangement, 

1 In Latin, Americus Vespucius. 

2 In 1494 a.d. the demarcation line was shifted about eight hundred miles farther 
to the west. Six years later, when the Portuguese discovered Brazil, the country 
was found to lie within their sphere of influence. 


To the Indies Westward 


565 


which excluded France, England, and other European countries 

from the New World, could not be long maintained. 

The demarcation line had a good deal to do in bringing 

about the first voyage around the globe. No one so far had 

realized the dream of Columbus to reach the „ 

Ferdinand 

Indies by sailing westward. Ferdinand Magellan, Magellan, 

formerly one of Albuquerque’s lieutenants but CK 

now in the service of Spain, believed that the 

Spice Islands lay within the Spanish sphere of influence and that 

a route to them could be found through some strait at the 

southern end of South America. 

The Spanish ruler, Charles V, 

grandson of the Isabella who 

had supported Col- Circumnavi- 

umbus, looked with £ atl °? ° f 
the globe, 

favor upon Magei- 1519-1522 
Ian’s ideas and gave AD - 
him a fleet of five vessels for the 
undertaking. After exploring 
the eastern coast of South 
America, Magellan came at 
length to the strait which now 
bears his name. He sailed boldy 
through this strait into an ocean 
called by him the Pacific, be¬ 
cause of its peaceful aspect. 

Magellan’s sailors begged him to return, for food was getting 
scarce, but the navigator replied that he would go on, “if he 
had to eat the leather off the rigging.” He did go on, for 
ninety-eight days, until he reached the Ladrone Islands. By 
a curious chance, in all this long trip across the Pacific Magel¬ 
lan came upon only two islands, both of them uninhabited. 
He then proceeded to the Philippines, where he was killed in a 
fight with the natives. His men managed to reach the Spice 
Islands, the goal of the journey. A single ship, the Victoria, 

1 Also known as the Marianas Islands. Magellan called them the Ladrones 
(Spanish ladron, a robber), because of the thievish habits of the natives. 



Ferdinand Magellan 

From a portrait formerly in the Versailles 
Gallery, Paris. 


566 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

afterwards carried back to Spain the few sailors who had sur¬ 
vived the hardships of a voyage lasting nearly three years. 

Magellan’s voyage forms a landmark in the history of geog¬ 
raphy. It proved that America, at least on the south, had 
Results of no connec ti° n with Asia and that the western 
the circum- sea-route to the Indies really existed. It re¬ 
navigation yealed, furthermore, the enormous extent of the 
Pacific Ocean. Henceforth men knew of a certainty that the 
earth is round, and in the distance covered by Magellan they 
had a rough estimate of its size. The circumnavigation of 
the globe ranks with the discovery of i\merica among the most 
significant events in history. Magellan stands beside Da Gama 
and Columbus in the company of great explorers. 

209 . The Indians 

The natives of America, whom Columbus called Indians, 
resemble Asiatics in some physical features, such as the reddish- 
The brown complexion, the hair, uniformly coarse 

American and black, the high cheek-bones, and the short 

aborigines stature of many tribes. On the other hand, 

the large aquiline nose, the straight eyes, never oblique, and 
the tall stature of some tribes are non-Asiatic characteristics. 
It seems safe to conclude that the American aborigines, what¬ 
ever their origin, became thoroughly fused into a composite 
race during long centuries of isolation from the rest of mankind. 

The Indians, because of their isolation, had to work out 
by themselves many arts, inventions, and discoveries. They 
Indian spoke over a thousand languages and dialects, and 

culture no t one has yet been traced outside of America. 

Their implements consisted of polished stone, occasionally of 
unsmelted copper, and in Mexico and Peru, of bronze. The 
use of iron was unknown to them. They cultivated Indian 
corn, or maize, but lacked the other great cereals. They do¬ 
mesticated the dog, the llama, and the alpaca, but no other 
animals. They usually lived in clans and tribes, ruled by 
headmen or chiefs. Their religion probably did not involve 
a belief in a “Great Spirit,” as is so often said, but rather recog- 


The Indians 


567 


nized in all nature the abode of spiritual powers, mysterious and 
wonderful, whom man ought to conciliate by prayers and sac¬ 
rifices. Most of the American Indians were not savages, but 
barbarians fairly well ad¬ 
vanced in culture. 

Indian culture attained its 
highest development in Mex¬ 
ico and Central _ „ 

The Mayas 

America, espe¬ 
cially among the Mayas of 
Yucatan, Guatemala, and 
Honduras. The remains of 
their cities — the Ninevehs 
and Baby Ions of the New 
World — lie buried in the 
tropical jungle, where Euro¬ 
peans first saw them, four 
hundred years ago. The 
temples, shrines, altars, and 
statues in these ancient cities 
show that the Mayas had 
made much progress in the 
fine arts. They knew enough 
astronomy to frame a solar 
calendar of three hundred and 
sixty-five days, and enough 
mathematics to employ num¬ 
bers exceeding a million. The 
writing of the Mayas was at 
least occasionally phonetic. 

Pictures, which stood for ob¬ 
jects or ideas, were being 
displaced by symbols for the sounds of words and syllables. 
When, if ever, their hieroglyphs have been completely deci¬ 
phered, we shall learn much more about this gifted people. 

The so-called Aztecs were an Indian people who came down 
from the north and established themselves on the Mexican 



A Maya Figurine 

Found in 1903 in the Mexican state of Vera 
Cruz and now in the U-. S. National Museum 
at Washington. It is about 6| inches in height 
and 3f inches in diameter at the base. The 
upper part represents a human head. Part of 
the face is covered by a mask-like device, which 
extends down over the chest like a beard. The 
lower part of the stubby figure bears a general 
resemblance to a bird, and the bird-form is 
further emphasized by wings at the sides. 
This little idol doubtless represents a bird-man 
deity. It is covered with Maya glyphs. 
These embody the earliest date yet determined 
in America, a date which corresponds to 100 b . c . 



568 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

plateau. Here they formed a confederacy of many tribes 
ruled over by a sort of king, whose capital was 
Tenochtitlan, on the site of the present city of 
Mexico. The Aztecs seem to have borrowed much of their art, 



Aztec Sacrificial Stone 

Now in the National Museum in the City of Mexico. 



science, and knowledge of writing from their Maya neighbors. 
They built houses and temples of stone or sun-dried brick, 
constructed aqueducts, roads, and bridges, excelled in the 

dyeing, weaving, 
and spinning of 
cotton, and made 
most beautiful or¬ 
naments of silver 
and gold. They 
worshipped many 
gods, to which 
the priests offered 
prisoners of war as 
human sacrifices. 

The lofty table-lands of the Andes were also the seat of an 
advanced Indian culture. The greater part of what is now 
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile came 
under the sway of the Incas, the “people of the 
sun.” The Inca power centered in the Peruvian city of Cuzco, 


Aztec Sacrificial Knife 

British Museum, London 

Length, twelve inches. The blade is of yellow, opalescent 
chalcedony, beautifully chipped and polished. The handle is of 
light-colored wood carved in the form of a man masked with a 
bird skin. Brilliant mosaic settings of turquoise, malachite, and 
shell embellish the figure. 


The Incas 







Spanish Explorations and Conquests in America 569 

and on the shores of Lake Titicaca, which lies twelve thousand 
feet above sea-level. The Incas displayed great skill in the 
manual arts; they were expert goldsmiths, silversmiths, and 
potters; while as cultivators and engineers they surpassed their 
European conquerors. 

210. Spanish Explorations and Conquests in America 

The Spaniards at first confined their explorations and con¬ 
quests to the West Indies, but they soon began to penetrate 
the mainland. Ponce de Leon, who had been with 

Ponce de 

Columbus on his second voyage, discovered m Le6n and 
iziz a.d. the country which he named Florida. 

D 0 • , . » tvt i 1513 A D - 

It became the first Spanish possession m North 
America. In the same year Vasco Nunez de Balboa, from 
the isthmus of Panama, sighted the Pacific. He entered its 
waters, sword in hand, and took formal possession in the name 
of the king of Spain. 

The overthrow of the Aztec power was accomplished by 
Hernando Cortes, with the aid of Indian allies. Many large 
towns and half a thousand villages, together with Conquest 
immense quantities of treasure, fell into the hands of Mexico, 
of the conquerors. Henceforth Mexico, or “New A D ^ and 
Spain,’’ became the most important Spanish pos- Peru 1531- 
session in America. Francisco Pizarro, who in¬ 
vaded Peru with a handful of soldiers, succeeded in overthrowing 
the Incas. Pizarro founded in Peru the city of Lima. It re¬ 
placed Cuzco as the capital of the country and formed the seat 
of the Spanish government in South America. 

The Spaniards, during the earlier part of the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury, heard much of a fabled king, whom they called El Dorado 
(“the gilded one”). This king, it was said, used £1 Dorado 
to smear himself with gold dust at an annual 
religious ceremony. The idea thus arose that somewhere in 
South America existed a fabled country marvelously rich in 
precious metals and gems. These stories stirred the imagina¬ 
tion of the Spaniards, who fitted out many expeditions to find 
the gilded man and his gilded realm. The quest for El Dorado 


570 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

opened up the valleys of the Amazon and Orinoco and the ex¬ 
tensive forest region east of the Andes. Spanish explorers also 
tried to find El Dorado in North America. De Soto’s expedi¬ 
tion led to the discovery of the Mississippi, and Coronado’s 
search for the “Seven Cities of Cibola” not only added greatly 



to geographical knowledge of the Southwest, but also resulted 
in the extension of Spanish dominion over this part of the 
American continent. The Spaniards founded Santa Fe and 
made it the capital of their government in New Mexico. 

211. The Spanish Colonial Empire 

The Spanish colonial empire included Florida, New Mexico, 
„ . . California, Mexico, Central America, the West 

Spain in . . 

the New Indies, and all South America except Brazil. 1 The 

World rule 0 f Sp a i n over these dominions lasted nearly 

1 See the map between pages 560-561. The Philippines, discovered by Magellan 
in 1521 a.d., also belonged to Spain, though by the demarcation line these islands 
lay within the Portuguese sphere of influence. 













THE PUEBLO OF TAOS, NORTH GROUP 

The pueblo lies at the foot of the Sierra de Taos about ninety miles north of Santa Fe. It consists of two 
large communal houses, in which live about four hundred Indians. The pueblo was first visited by the Spaniards 
in 1541, who found it in much the same condition that it is to-day. 









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■MBS 

SI 




mm. 


wm. 

.S'M wM/, 




I" 


Wm, 


L ; s 

WM 






Pflii 




rnMmMmm 


: 














SANTA BARBARA MISSION 

The Franci scan mission at Santa Barbara, California, was founded in 1786 by Padre Lasuen, the successor of Junfpero Serra. 
It is the best-preserved of all the California missions. The walls of the monastery are of sun-dried brick {adobe) * the roofinc 
consists of heavy rafters covered with tiles. The church, dedicated in 1820, is a solid structure of sandstone and cement. 
















The Spanish Colonial Empire 571 

three hundred years. During this time she gave her language, 
her government, and her religion to half the New World. 

The Spaniards brought few women with them and hence 

had to find their wives among the Indians. Intermarriage 

of the two peoples early became common. The intermar- 

result was the mixed race which one still finds na & e of 

Spaniards 

throughout the greater part of Spanish America. an d 
The Indian strain predominates, because almost Indians 
everywhere the aborigines were far more numerous than the 
white settlers. 

The Spaniards treated the Indians of the West Indies most 
harshly and forced them to work in gold mines and on sugar 
plantations. The hard labor, to which the Indians Treatment 
were unaccustomed, broke down their health, and of the 
almost the entire native population disappeared Indians 
within a few years after the coming of the whites. This terrible 
tragedy was not repeated on the mainland, for the Spanish gov¬ 
ernment stepped in to preserve the aborigines from destruction. 
It prohibited their enslavement and gave them the protection of 
humane laws. Though these laws were not always well 
enforced, the Indians of Mexico and Peru prospered under 
Spanish rule and often engaged in agriculture, trade, and in¬ 
dustry. 

Many of the Indians were converted to Christianity. De¬ 
voted monks penetrated deep into the wilderness and brought 
to the aborigines, not only the Christian religion, Conversion 
but also European civilization. The natives were of the 
usually gathered into permanent villages, or “mis- n 1 
sions,” each one with its church and school. Converts who 
learned to read and write sometimes became priests or entered 
the monastic orders. The monks also took much interest in the 
material welfare of the Indians and taught them how to farm, 
how to build houses, and how to spin and weave and cook by 
better methods than their own. 

The civilizing work of Spain in the New World is sometimes 
forgotten. Here were the earliest American hospitals and asy¬ 
lums, for the use of Indians and negroes as well as of Spaniards. 




572 







































English and French Explorations in America 573 

Here were the first American schools and colleges. Twelve in¬ 
stitutions of higher learning, all modeled upon the university 
of Salamanca, arose in Spanish America during the Spanish _ 
colonial period. The fine arts also flourished in American 
the Spanish colonies, and architects of the United culture 
States have now begun to copy the beautiful churches and public 
buildings of Mexico and Peru. 

The government of Spain administered its colonial dominions 
in the spirit of monopoly. As far as possible, it excluded French, 
English, and other foreigners from trading with Spanish 
Spanish America. It also discouraged ship-build- colonial 
ing, manufacturing, and even the cultivation of the policy 
vine and the olive, lest the colonists should compete with home 
industries. The colonies were regarded only as a work-shop 
for the production of the precious metals and raw materials. 
This unwise policy partly accounts for the economic backward¬ 
ness of Mexico, Peru, and other Spanish-American countries. 

212. English and French Explorations in America 

The English based their claim to the right to colonize North 
America on the discoveries of John Cabot, an Italian mariner 
in the service of the Tudor king, Henry VII. The Cabot 
Cabot sailed in 1497 a.d. from Bristol across the voyages, 
northern Atlantic and made land somewhere be- 1497-1498 
tween Labrador and Nova Scotia. The following 
year he seems to have undertaken a second voyage and to have 
explored the coast of North America nearly as far as Florida. 
Cabot found neither gold nor opportunities for profitable trade. 
His expeditions, therefore, were considered a failure, and for a 
long time the English took no further interest in exploring the 
New World. 

The discovery by Magellan of a strait leading into the Pacific 
aroused hope that a similar passage, beyond the Cartier , g 
regions controlled by Spain, might exist in North voyages, 
America. The French king, Francis I, sent Jac- ^ 4-1542 
ques Cartier to look for it. Cartier found the gulf 
and river which he named after St. Lawrence, and also tried 





574 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 


m 


to establish a settlement near where Quebec now stands. The 
venture was not successful, and the French did not undertake the 
colonization of Canada till the first decade of the seventeenth 
century. 

English sailors also sought a road to India by the so-called 
Northwest Passage. It was soon found to be an impossible 
route, for during half the year the 
seas were frozen and during the other 
The half they were filled with 

Northwest icebergs. However, the 

Passage search for the Northwest 

Passage added much to geographical 
knowledge. The names Frobisher 
Bay, Davis Strait, and Baffin Land 
still preserve the memory of the navi¬ 
gators who first explored the channels 
leading into the Arctic Ocean. 

When the English realized how little 
profit was to be gained by voyages to 
The English the cold and desolate 

“ sea dogs ” n0 rth, they turned south¬ 

ward to warmer waters. Here, of 
course, they came upon the Spaniards, 
who had no disposition to share with 
foreigners the profitable trade of 
the -New World. The English “sea 
dogs,” as they called themselves, did 
not scruple to ravage the Spanish 
colonies and to capture the huge, 
clumsy treasure-ships carrying gold 
and silver to Spain. The most fa- 
Sir Francis Drake, was the first Eng¬ 
lishman to sail round the world (1577-1580 a.d.). 

Another English seaman, Sir Walter Raleigh, sent 
out an expedition to find a good site for a settle¬ 
ment in North America. The explorers reached 
the coast of North Carolina and returned with glowing accounts 



Cabot Memorial Tower 

Erected at Bristol, England, in 
memory of John Cabot and his sons. 
The foundation stone was laid on 
June 24, 1897 a . d ., the four-hun¬ 
dredth anniversary of John Cabot’s 
first sight of the continent of North 
America. 


mous of the “sea dogs/ 


The Raleigh 
colonies, 
1584-1590 
A.D. 





The Old World and the New 


575 


of the country, which was named Virginia, in honor of Elizabeth, 
the “Virgin Queen.” Raleigh’s colonies in Virginia failed miser¬ 
ably, and the English made no further attempt to settle there 
until the reign of James I, early in the seventeenth century. 



English Battleship of the Sixteenth Century 

After a manuscript in Magdalen College, Oxford. The Great Harry, built by Henry VIII 
in i S i4, was the first ship known to have been provided with a tier of guns below the mam 
deck. 

213. The Old World and the New 

The New World contained two virgin continents, rich in 
natural resources and capable of extensive colonization. The 
native peoples, comparatively few in number and Expansion 
barbarian in culture, could not offer much resist- of Eu p 
ance to the explorers, missionaries, traders, and colonists from 
the Old World. The Spanish and Portuguese in the sixteenth 
century, followed by the French, English, and Dutch in the 
seventeenth century, repeopled America and brought to it Euro¬ 
pean civilization. Europe expanded into a Greater Europe be¬ 
yond the ocean. 








576 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

In the Middle Ages the Mediterranean and the Baltic had been 
the principal highways of commerce. The discovery of America, 
Shifting of followed immediately by the opening of the Cape 
trade routes route to the Indies, shifted commercial activity 
from these inclosed seas to the Atlantic Ocean. Venice, Genoa, 
Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bruges gradually gave way, as trading 
centers, to Lisbon and Cadiz, Bordeaux and Cherbourg, Antwerp 
and Amsterdam, London and Liverpool. 

The discovery of America revealed to Europeans a new source 
of the precious metals. The Spaniards soon secured large quan¬ 
tities of gold by plundering the Indians of Mexico 
and Peru of their stored-up wealth. The output 
of silver much exceeded that of gold after 1545 
A.D., when the Spaniards began to work the wonder¬ 
fully rich silver mines of Potosi in Bolivia. It is estimated that 
by the end of the sixteenth century the American mines had 
produced at least three times as much gold and silver as had 
been current in Europe at the beginning of the century. 

The Spaniards could not keep this new treasure. Having few 
industries themselves, they were obliged to send it out, as fast as 
Conse- received it) in payment for their imports of 

quences of European goods. Spain acted as a huge sieve 
money la supply throu S h which the gold and silver of America en¬ 
tered all the countries of Europe. Money, now 
more plentiful, purchased far less than in former times; in other 
words, the prices of all commodities rose, wages advanced, and 
manufacturers and traders had additional capital to use in their 
undertakings. The Middle Ages had suffered from the lack of 
sufficient money with which to do business; from the beginning 
of modern times the world has been better supplied with the in¬ 
dispensable medium of exchange. 

America was much more than a treasury of the precious 
metals. Many commodities, hitherto unknown, soon found 
New their way from the New World to the Old. These 

commodities included maize, or Indian corn, the potato, which, 
when cultivated in Europe, became the “ bread of 
the poor,” chocolate and cocoa made from the seeds of the cacao 


Increased 
production 
of the 
precious 
metals 



The Old World and the New 


577 


tree, Peruvian bark, or quinine, so useful in malarial fevers, 
cochineal, ‘ the dye-woods of Brazil, and the mahogany of the 
West Indies. America also sent to Europe large supplies of 
cane-sugar, molasses, fish, whale-oil, and furs. All these new 
products became common articles of consumption and so raised 
the standard of living in European countries. 

The political effects of the discoveries were also notable. The 

Atlantic Ocean now formed, not only the commercial, but also 

the political center of the world. The Atlantic- 
. . . _ _ _ . _ . . . Political 

facing countries, first Portugal and Spam, then effects of 

Holland, France, and England, became the great the di . s ~ 

_ _ . .... . coveries 

powers of Europe. Their trade rivalries and con¬ 
tests for colonial possessions have been potent causes of Euro¬ 
pean wars for the last four hundred years. 

The sixteenth century in Europe was the age of that revolt 
against the Roman Church called the Protestant Reformation. 
During this period, however, the Church won her Effectg of 
victories over the American aborigines. What she the discov- 
lost of territory, wealth, and influence in Europe ®* E g i( JJ on 
was more than offset by what she gained in 
America. Furthermore, the region now occupied by the United 
States furnished in the seventeenth century an asylum from 
religious persecution, as was proved when Puritans settled in 
New England, Roman Catholics in Maryland, and Quakers in 
Pennsylvania. The vacant spaces of America offered plenty of 
room for all who would worship God in their own way. The 
New World became a refuge from the intolerance of the Old. 


Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate those parts of the world known in the time of 
Columbus (before 1492 a.d.). 2. On an outline map indicate the voyages of dis¬ 

covery of Vasco da Gama, Columbus (first voyage), John Cabot, and Magellan. 
3. What particular discoveries were made by Cartier, Drake, Balboa, De Soto, 
Ponce de Leon, and Coronado? 4- Compare the Cosmas map (page 553) with 
the map of the World according to Homer (page 76). 5- Compare the Hereford 

map (page 553) with the map of the World according to Ptolemy (page 132). 6. Why 
has Marco Polo been called the Columbus of the East Indies” ? 7 . “ Cape Verde 

not only juts out into the Atlantic, but stands forth as a promontory in human his¬ 
tory.” Comment on this statement. 8. How did Vasco da Gama complete the 



578 Geographical Discovery and Colonization 

work of Prince Henry the Navigator? g. Show that Lisbon in the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury was the commercial successor of Venice, io. “Had Columbus perished in 
mid-ocean, it is doubtful whether America would have remained long undis¬ 
covered.” Comment on this statement, n. Why did no one suggest that the 
New World be called after Columbus? 12. Show that Magellan achieved 
what Columbus planned. 13. Why did Balboa call the Pacific the “South Sea”? 
14. Why is Roman law followed in all Spanish-American countries? 15. In what 
parts of the world is Spanish still the common language? 16. Why did the Ger¬ 
mans fail to take part in the work of discovery and colonization? 17. Show that 
the three words “gospel, glory, and gold” sum up the principal motives of European 
colonization in the sixteenth century. 18. Compare the motives which led to the 
colonization of the New World with those which led to Greek colonization. 
19. “ The opening of the Atlantic to continuous exploration is the most momen¬ 
tous step in the history of man’s occupation of the earth.” Does this statement 
seem to be justified? 



An Aztec Pictograph 

Represents the arrival of Cortes, on horseback, with sword and cross. 

him gold. From the Codex Vaticanus. 


Montezuma brings 



CHAPTER XXVI 


THE REFORMATION AND THE RELIGIOUS WARS, 
1517-1648 A.D. 1 


214 . Decline of the Papacy 


The Papacy, victorious in the long struggle with the Holy 
Roman Empire, reached during the thirteenth century the 
height of its temporal power. The popes at this The Papacy 
time were the greatest sovereigns in Europe. They in the 
ruled a large part of Italy, had great influence in *^*® y th 
the affairs of France, England, Spain, and other 
countries, and in Germany named and deposed emperors. 
From their capital at Rome they sent forth their legates to 
every European court and issued the laws binding on western 


Christendom. 

The temporal power of the Church proved useful and even 
necessary in feudal times, when kings were weak and nobles 
were strong. The Church of the early Middle Friction 
Ages served as the chief unifying force in Europe, between 
When, however, the kings had repressed feudalism, ^ ch and 
they took steps to extend their authority over the 
Church as well. They tried, therefore, to restrict the privileges 
of ecclesiastical courts, to impose taxes on the clergy, as on their 
own subjects, and to dictate the appointment of bishops and 
abbots to office. This policy naturally led to much friction 
between popes and kings, between Church and State. 

The Papacy put forth its most extensive claims under Boniface 
VIII. The character of [these claims is shown 
by two bulls which he issued. The first forbad e yin, 1294 - 
alll avmen, under penalty of excommunication , 1303 A.D. 
to collec t taxes on Chur ch lands, and "all clergymen to pay 

i Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xxiii, “Martin 
Luther and the Beginning of the Reformation”; chapter xxiv, “England in the 
Age of Elizabeth.” 


579 






580 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


Boniface 
and Philip 
the Fair 


them. The second announced both the spiritual and the tem¬ 
poral supremacy of the popes. “ Submission to the Roman 
pontiff/’ declared Boniface, “is altogether necessary to salvation 
for every human creature.” 

Boniface had employed the exalted language of Gregory VII 
in dealing with Henry IV, but he found an opponent in a mon¬ 
arch more resolute and resourceful than any Holy 
Roman Emperor. This was Philip the Fair, 
king of Franc e. Philip answered the first bull by 
refusing to allow any gold and silver to be exported from France 
to Italy. The pope, thus deprived of valuable revenues, gave 
way and acknowledged that the French ruler had a limited 
right to tax the clergy. Another dispute soon arose, however, 
as the result of Philip’s impris onmen t and trial of an obnoxious 
papal legate. Boniface prepared to excommunicate the king 
and depose him from the throne. Philip retaliated by calling 
together the Estates-Genej^I and asking its support for the 
preservation of the “ancient liberty of France.” The nobles, 
the clergy, and the “third estate” rallied around Philip, accused 
the pope of heresy and tyranny, and declared that the French 
king was subject to God alone. 

The last act of the drama was soon played. Philip sent his 
emissaries into Italy to arrest the pope and bring him to trial 
Anagni, before a general council in France. At Anagni, 
1303 a.d. near Rome, a band of soldiers stormed the papal 
palace and made Boniface a prisoner. The citizens of Anagni 
soon freed him, but the shock of the humiliation broke the pope’s 
spirit and he died soon afterwards. 

Soon after the death of Boniface, Philip succeeded in having 
the archbisho p of Bordeaux chosen as head of the Church. 
The The new pope removed the papal court to Avignon, 

cfptiwty 1 ’’ 311 a town Just outside the French frontier of those 
1309-1377 days. The popes lived in Avignon for nearly 

A,D ' seventy years. This period is usually described 

as the “ Babylonian C aptiyity” of the Church, a name which 
recalls the exile of the Jews from their native land. The long 
absence of the popes from Rome lessened their authority, and the 











Decline of the Papacy 581 


suspicion that they were the mere vassals of the French crown 
seriously impaired the respect in which they had been held. 



The Great Schism, 1378-1417 a.d. 


The “Great Schism” came next. Shortly after the return 
of the papal court to Rome, an Italian was elected pope as 
Urban VI. The cardinals in the French interest The (t Great 
refused to accept him, declared his election void, Schism,” 
and named Clement VII as pope. Clement with- i 3 ? 81417 
drew to Avignon, while Urban remained in Rome. 

Western Christendom could not decide which one to obey. 
Some countries declared for Urban, while other countries ac¬ 
cepted Clement. The spectacle of two rival popes, each holding 
himself out as the only true successor of St. Peter, continued for 
about forty years and injured the Papacy more than anything 
else that had happened to it. 

































58,2 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


The schism in western Christendom was finally healed at the 
Council of Constance. There were three “ph an “ 
Constance, tom popes” at this time, but they were all deposed 
1414-1418 f a v 0r of a new pontiff. The Roman Church 

now had a single head, but it was not easy to re¬ 
vive the former loyalty to the pope. 

The Papacy became henceforth more and more an Italian 
power. The popes neglected European politics and gave their 
The chief attention to the States of the Church. A 

Renaissance number of them took much interest in the Renais- 
popes sance movement. They kept up splendid courts, 

collected manuscripts, paintings, and statues, and erected mag¬ 
nificent palaces and churches in Rome. Some European 
peoples, especially in Germany, looked askance at such luxury 
and begrudged the heavy taxes which were necessary to support 
it. This feeling against the papacy also helped to provoke 
the Reformation. 

The worldliness of some of the popes was too often reflected 
in the lives of the lesser clergy. Throughout the thirteenth, 
Complaints fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries the Church 
against the encountered much criticism from reformers.. The 
clergy famous humanist, Erasmus, wrote his Praise of 

Folly to expose the vices and temporal ambitions of bishops and 
monks, the foolish speculations of theologians, and the excessive 
reliance which common people had on pilgrimages, festivals, 
relics, and other aids to devotion. The demand for this work 
was so great that it went through twenty-seven large editions 
during the author’s lifetime. Erasmus and others like him 
were loyal sons of the Church, but they believed they could 
best serve her interests by effecting her reform. Some men 
went further, however, and demanded wholesale changes in 
Catholic belief and worship. These men were the heretics. 


215 . Heresies and Heretics 


It is difficult for those who live in an age of religious tolera¬ 
tion to understand the horror which heresy inspired in the 
Middle Ages. A heretic was a traitor to the Church, for he 


Heresies and Heretics 


583 


denied the doctrines believed to be essential to salvation. It 
seemed a Christian duty to compel the heretic to recant, lest 
he imperil his eternal welfare. If he persisted in 

. . . . . , * , Medieval 

his impious course, then the earth ought to be rid attitude 

of one who was a source of danger to the faithful * oward 

0 heresy 

and an enemy of the Almighty. 

Executions for heresy occurred as early as the fourth century, 
but for a long time milder penalties were usually inflicted. The 
heretic might be exiled, or imprisoned, or deprived Punishment 
of his property and his rights as a citizen. The of heres y 
death penalty was seldom invoked by the Church before the 
thirteenth century. Since ecclesiastical law forbade the Church 
to shed blood, the State stepped in to seize the heretic and put 
him to death, most often by fire. We must remember that in 
medieval times cruel punishments were imposed for even slight 
offenses, and hence men saw nothing wrong in inflicting the 
worst of punishments for what was believed to be the worst 
of crimes. 

Heretics were not uncommon during the later Middle Ages. 
Some heretical movements spread over entire communities. 
The most important was that of the Albigenses, 
so called from the town of Albi in southern France, A 1 Ms . ens ?s 
where many of them lived. Their doctrines are not well known, 
but they seem to have believed in the existence of two gods -r- 
one good (whose son was Christ), the other evil (whose son was 
Satan). The Albigenses even set up a rival church, with its 
priests, bishops, and councils. 

The failure of attempts to convert the Albigenses by peaceful 
means led the pope, Innocent III, to preach a crusade against 
them. Those who entered upon it were promised crusade 
the usual privileges of crusaders. A series . of gamstjhe 
bloody wars now followed, in the course of which 1209-1229 ’ 
thousands of men, women, and children perished. A D - 
The Albigensian sect did not entirely disappear for more than 
a century, and then only after numberless trials and executions 
for heresy. 

The followers of Peter Waldo, who lived in the twelfth cen- 



584 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


tury, made no effort to set up a new religion in Europe. They 
objected, however, to certain practices of the Church, such as 
The masses for the dead and the adoration of saints. 

Waidenses They also condemned the luxury of the clergy 
and urged that Christians should live like the Apostles, chari¬ 
table and poor. The Waldenses regarded the Bible as a sufficient 
guide to religious life, and so they translated parts of the Scrip¬ 
tures and allowed every one to preach, without distinction of 

age, rank, or sex. The 
sect survived severe per¬ 
secution and now forms 
a branch of the Protestant 
Church in Italy. 

Beliefs very similar to 
those of the Waldenses 
were entertained by John 
Wycliffe , 1 

John . 

Wycliffe, master of an 

isao-UM Oxford col- 

A.D. 

lege and a 
popular preacher. He, 
too, appealed from the au¬ 
thority of the Church to 
the authority of the Bible. 
With the assistance of two 
friends Wycliffe produced 
the first English transla¬ 
tion of the Scriptures. 
Manuscript copies of the work had a large circulation, until the 
government suppressed it. Wycliffe was not molested in life, 
but the Council of Constance denounced his teaching and 
ordered that his bones should be dug up, burned, and cast into 
a stream. 

Wycliffe had organized bands of “poor priests” to spread 
the simple truths of the Bible through all England. They 
went out, staff in hand and clad in long, russet gowns, and 
1 Or Wyclif, 



John Wycliffe 

After an old print. 












Luther and the Reformation in Germany 585 

preached to the common people in the English language, 

wherever an audience could be found. The Lollards ; as Wy- 

cliffe’s followers were known, not only attacked 

.... . . . . The Lollards 

many beliefs and practices of the Church, but also 

demanded social reforms. For instance, they declared that all 

wars were sinful and were but plundering and murdering the 

poor to win glory for kings. The Lollards had to endure much 

persecution for heresy. Their work, nevertheless, lived on and 

sowed in England and Scotland the seeds of the Reformation. 

The doctrines of Wycliffe found favor with Anne of Bohemia, 
wife of King Richard II, and through her they reached that 
country. Here they attracted the attention of j ohn Huss 
John Huss , 1 a distinguished scholar in the uni- 1373 (?)-i4i5 
versity of Prague. Wycliffe’s writings confirmed A D ‘ 

Huss in his criticism of many doctrines of the Church. He 
attacked the clergy in sermons and pamphlets and also objected 
to the supremacy of the pope. The sentence of excommunica¬ 
tion pronounced against him did not shake his reforming zeal. 
Huss was finally cited to appear before the Council of Constance, 
then in session. Relying on the safe conduct given him by the 
German emperor, Huss appeared before the council, only to be 
declared guilty of teaching “many things evil, scandalous, sedi¬ 
tious, and dangerously heretical.” The emperor then violated 
the safe conduct — no promise made to a heretic was considered 
binding — and allowed Huss to be burnt outside the walls of 
Constance. 

216. Martin Luther and the Beginning of the Reforma¬ 
tion in Germany, 1517-1522 A.D. 

Though there were many reformers before the Reformation, 
the beginning of that movement is rightly associated with the 
name of Martin Luther. He was the son of a 

• . . ,. Martin 

German peasant, who, by industry and frugality, Luther, 

had won a small competence. Thanks to his 1483-1546 
father’s self-sacrifice, Luther enjoyed a good edu¬ 
cation in scholastic philosophy at the university of Erfurt. 

1 Or Hus. 



586 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 

He took the degrees of bachelor and master of arts and then 
began to study law, but an acute sense of his sinfulness and a 
desire to save his soul soon drove him into a monastery. A few 
years later Luther paid a visit to Rome, which opened his eyes 
to the worldliness and general laxity of life in the capital of the 
Papacy. He returned to Germany and became a professor of 
theology in the university of Wittenberg, newly founded by 
Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony. Luther’s sermons and 
lectures attracted large audiences; students began to flock to 
Wittenberg; and the elector grew proud of the rising young 
teacher who was making his university famous. 

Luther was soon to emerge from his academic retirement 
and to become, quite unintentionally, a reformer. There came 
Tetzel and into the neighborhood of Wittenberg a Dominican 
indulgences friar name d Tetzel, granting indulgences in return 
for money to be used for the erection of the new St. Peter’s at 
Rome. An indulgence is a letter of pardon relieving a truly 
penitent sinner from some or all of the penances (punishments) 
which the Church would otherwise impose upon him. Its 
benefits are also believed to apply to the souls of the dead in 
Purgatory. Many of the German princes opposed this method 
of raising funds for the Church, because it took so much money 
out of their dominions. Huss and Erasmus had also con¬ 
demned indulgences on religious grounds. 

Luther began his reforming career by an attack upon indul¬ 
gences. He did not deny their usefulness altogether, but 
Posting of pointed out that they lent themselves to grave 
the ninety- abuses. Common people, who could not under- 
lStfA*]? S ’ stand tlle Latin in which they were written, often 
thought that they wiped away the penalties of sin, 
even without true repentance. Luther also denied the efficacy 
of indulgences for souls in Purgatory. These and other criti¬ 
cisms he set forth in ninety-five theses or propositions, which 
he offered to defend against all opponents. In accordance with 
the custom of medieval scholars, Luther posted his theses on 
the door of the church at Wittenberg, where all might see them. 
They were composed in Latin, but were at once translated into 


Luther and the Reformation in Germany 587 

German, printed, and spread broadcast over Germany. Their 
effect was so great that before long the granting of indulgences 
in that country almost ceased. 

The scholarly critic of indulgences soon passed into an open 
foe of the Papacy. Luther found that his theological views 
bore a close resemblance to those of Wycliffe and Burning of 
John Huss, yet he refused to give them up as hereti- the papal 
cal. Instead, he wrote three bold pamphlets, ^ 1520 
in one of which he appealed to the “Christian 
nobility of the German nation” to rally together against Rome. 
The pope, at first, had paid little attention to the controversy 
about indulgences, declaring it “a mere squabble of monks,” but 
he now issued a bull against Luther, ordering him to recant 
within sixty days or be excommunicated. The papal bull did 
not frighten Luther or withdraw from him popular support. He 
burnt it in the market square of Wittenberg, in the presence of 
a concourse of students and townsfolk. This dramatic answer 
to the pope deeply stirred all Germany. 

The next scene of the Reformation was staged at Worms,, at 
an important assembly, or Diet, of the Holy Roman Empire. 
The Diet summoned Luther to appear before it Diet of 
for examination, and the emperor, Charles V, Worms,^ 
gave him a safe conduct. Luther’s friends, re¬ 
membering the treatment of Huss, advised him not to accept 
the summons, but he declared that he would enter Worms 
“in the face of the gates of Hell and the powers of the air.” 
Luther at Worms bravely faced the princes, nobles, and clergy 
of Germany. He refused to retract anything he had writ¬ 
ten, unless his statements could be shown to contradict the 
Bible. “It is neither right nor safe to act against conscience, 
Luther said. “God help me. Amen.” 

Only one thing remained to do with Luther. He was ordered 
to return to Wittenberg and await the imperial Luther at 
edict declaring him a heretic and outlaw. The the Wart- 
elector of Saxony, who feared for Luther’s safety, 
had him carried off secretly to the castle of the 
Wartburg. Luther remained there for nearly a year, engaged 


588 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


upon a German translation of the New Testament. His version, 
simple, forcible, and easy to understand, enjoyed wide popularity 
and helped to fix for Germans the form of their literary language. 



Worms Cathedral 

The old German city of Worms possesses in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul one of the 
finest Romanesque structures in Europe. The exterior, with its four round towers, two large 
domes, and a choir at each end, is particularly imposing. The cathedral was mainly built 
in the twelfth century. 

Luther afterwards completed a translation of the entire Bible, 
which the printing press multiplied in thousands of copies 
throughout Germany. 

217. Charles V and the Spread of the German 
Reformation, 1519-1556 A.D. 

The young man who as Holy Roman Emperor presided at 
the Diet of Worms had assumed the imperial crown only two 
Charles v, ^ ears Previously. A namesake of Charlemagne, 

1519-^556 Charles V held sway over dominions even more 

A.D. extensive than those which had belonged to the 

Frankish king. Through his mother, a daughter 
of Ferdinand and Isabella, he inherited Spain, Naples, Sicily, 


















































































Charles V and the Reformation 


589 


and the Spanish possessions in the New World. Through his 
father, a .son of the emperor Maximilian I, he became ruler of 
Burgundy and the Netherlands and also succeeded to the ex¬ 
tensive possessions of the Hapsburgs in central Europe. 
Charles was thus the most powerful monarch in Europe. 

Charles, as a devout Roman Catholic, had no sympathy for 
the Reformation. He declared at Worms his determination 
to stake “all his dominions, his friends, his body C h ar ies V 
and blood, his life and soul” upon the extinction and the 
of the Lutheran heresy. This might have been Lutherans 
an easy task, had Charles undertaken it at once. But a revolt 
in Spain and wars with the French and the Ottoman Turks led 
to his long absence from Germany and kept him from proceeding 
effectively against the Lutherans until it was too late. 

The Reformation in Germany appealed to many classes. 
To patriotic Germans it seemed a revolt against a foreign power 
— the Italian Papacy. To men of pious mind it The 
offered the attractions of a simple faith which “ Reformed 
found in the Bible the rule of life. Worldly- Rellglon 
minded princes saw in it an opportunity to despoil the Church 
of lands and revenues. Luther’s teachings, accordingly, found 
ready acceptance. Priests married, Luther himself setting the 
example, monks left their monasteries, and the “Reformed 
Religion” took the place of Roman Catholicism in most parts of 
northern and central Germany. South Germany, however, did 
not fall away from the pope and has remained Roman Catholic 
to the present time. 

It was not till 1546 a.d., the year of Luther’s death, that 
Charles V felt his hands free to suppress the rising tide of Protes¬ 
tantism. The Lutheran princes by this time had Peace of 
formed a league for mutual protection. Charles Augsburg, 
brought Spanish troops into Germany and tried 1555 AD ' 
to break up the league by force. Civil war raged for a number 
of years, until both sides agreed to the Peace of Augsburg. It 
was a compromise. The ruler of each state — Germany then 
contained over three hundred states — was to decide whether 
his subjects should be Lutherans or Catholics. The peace 



5 qo The Reformation and the Religions Wars 

thus failed to establish religious toleration, since all Germans 
had to believe as their prince believed. However, it recognized 
Lutheranism as a legal religion and ended the attempts to crush 
the German Reformation. 

Luther’s doctrines spread into Scandinavian lands. The 
rulers of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden closed the monasteries 
Lutheranism an d compelled the Roman Catholic bishops to 
in Scandi- surrender ecclesiastical property to the crown. 

Lutheranism became henceforth the official re¬ 
ligion of these three countries. 1 


218. The Reformation in Switzerland; 

Zwingli and Calvin 

The Reformation in Switzerland began with the work of 

Zwingli. He was the contemporary, but not the disciple of 

Luther. From his pulpit 

in the cathedral of Zurich, 

Zwingli pro- 
Huldreich . . 6 j - 

Zwingli, claimed the 

1484-1531 Scriptures 
as the sole 
guide of faith and denied 
the supremacy of the pope. 
Many of the Swiss cantons 
accepted his teaching and 
broke away from obedi¬ 
ence to Rome. Civil war 
soon followed between 
Protestants and Roman 
Catholics, and Zwingli 
fell in the struggle. The 
two parties at length made 
peace * which allowed 



Zwingli 

After a painting by Hans Asper. 


each canton to determine its own religion. Switzerland has .... 
tmued to this day to be part Roman Catholic and part Protestant. 

are'Luthertnf’ WhiCh f0mierly be '° nged ‘° Sweden ’ nearly a11 the habitants 









MARTIN LUTHER JOHN CALVIN 

After a portrait made in 1526 by Lucius After an old print 

Cranach the Elder. 


















































r 


* 
















* 













♦ 










The English Reformation 


59 i 


The Protestants in Switzerland soon found another leader in 
John Calvin, a Frenchman who settled in Geneva. His most im¬ 
portant work was the Institutes of the Christian j ohn Calvin 
Religion ,- which set forth in an orderly, logical 1509-1564 
manner the main principles of Protestant theology. A,D ' 

Calvin also translated the Bible into French and wrote valuable 
commentaries on nearly all the Scriptural books. 

Calvin’s influence was not confined to Geneva or even to 
Switzerland. The men whom he trained and on whom he set 
the stamp of his stern, earnest, God-fearing char- Diffusion of 
acter spread Calvinism over a great part of western Calvinism 
Europe. It became in Holland and Scotland the prevailing 
type of Protestantism, and in France and England it deeply 
affected the national life. The Puritans in the seventeenth 
century carried Calvinism across the sea to New England, where 
it formed the dominant faith in colonial times. 


219. The English Reformation, 1533-1558 A.D. 

The Reformation in Germany and Switzerland started as a 
national and popular movement; in England it began as the 
act of a despotic sovereign, Henry VIII. This Henry VIII 
second Tudor was handsome, athletic, finely edu- king, 1509- 
cated, and very able; but he was also selfish, 1547 A,D ‘ 
sensual, and cruel. His father had created a strong monarchy 
in England by humbling both Parliament and the nobles. When 
Henry VIII came to the throne, the only serious obstacle in the 
way of royal absolutism was the Roman Church. 

Henry showed himself at first a devoted Catholic. He took 
an amateur’s interest in theology and wrote with his own royal 
pen a book attacking Luther. The pope rewarded Henry , g 
him with the title of “ Defender of the Faith,” early 
a title which English sovereigns still bear. Henry j^Papacy 
at this time did not question the authority of the 
Papacy. He even chose as his chief adviser Cardinal Wolsey, 
the most conspicuous ecclesiastic in the kingdom. 

The actual separation from Rome arose out of Henry’s 
matrimonial difficulties. He had married a Spanish princess, 


592 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 



Catherine of Aragon, the aunt of the emperor Charles V and 
widow of Henry’s older brother. The marriage required a 

dispensation from the 


pope, 

Henry and 
Catherine 
of Aragon 


because canon 
law for¬ 
bade a 
man to 
wed his brother’s 
widow. After living 
happily with Cath¬ 
erine for eighteen 
years, Henry sud¬ 
denly announced his 
conviction that the 
union was sinful. 
This, of course, 
formed simply a pre¬ 
text for the divorce 
which Henry desired. 
Of his children by 
Catherine only a 
daughter survived, 
but Henry wished to 
have a son succeed 
him on the throne. 
Moreover, he had 

grown tired of Catherine and had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, 
a pretty maid-in-waiting at the court. 

Henry at first tried to secure the pope’s consent to the divorce. 
The pope did no.t like to set aside the dispensation granted by 
The predecessor, nor did he wish to offend the 

mighty emperor Charles V. Failing to get the 
papal sanction, Henry obtained his divorce from 
an English court presided over by Thomas Cranmer; archbishop 
of Canterbury. Anne Boleyn was then proclaimed queen, in 
defiance of the papal bull of excommunication. 

Henry’s next step was to procure from his subservient Parlia- 


Henry VIII 

After a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. 


divorce, 
1533 A.D. 













The English Reformation 


593 


ment a series of laws which abolished the pope’s authority in 
England. The most important of these laws was the Act of 
Supremacy. It declared the English king to be Act of 
“the only supreme head on earth of the Church of Supremacy, 
England.” At the same time, a new treason act 1534 AD ' 
imposed the death penalty on any one who called the king a 
“heretic, schismatic, tyrant, infidel, or usurper.” The great 
majority of the English people seem to have accepted the new 
legislation without much objection; those who refused to do 
so perished on the scaffold. 



The little town of Melrose in Scotland contains the ruins of a very beautiful monastery 
church built about the middle of the fifteenth century. The choir, which still remains, is 
notable for its slender shafts, richly-carved capitals, and windows of stone-tracery. The 
exquisite sculptures throughout the church were defaced at the time of the Reformation. 
The heart of Robert Bruce is interred near the site of the high altar. 

The suppression of the monasteries soon followed the separa¬ 
tion from Rome. Henry declared to Parliament that they 
deserved to be abolished, because of the “slothful The 
and ungodly lives” led by the inmates. This monasteries 
accusation may have been true in some instances, suppressed 
but the real reason for Henry’s action was his desire to crush the 
monastic orders, which supported the pope, and to seize their 
extensive possessions. The beautiful monasteries were torn 
down, and the lands attached to them were sold for the benefit 
of the crown or granted to Henry’s favorites. The nobles who 











594 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


Progress 
of the 

Reformation 
under 
Edward VI, 
1547-1553 
A.D. 


accepted this monastic wealth naturally became zealous advo¬ 
cates of Henry’s anti-papal policy. 

The Reformation made rapid progress in England under 
Henry’s successor, Edward VI. The young king’s guardian 
allowed reformers from the Continent to come to 
England, and the doctrines of Luther, Zwingli, 
and Calvin were freely preached there. All paint¬ 
ings, statuary, wood carvings, and stained glass 
were removed from church edifices. The use of 
tapers, incense, and holy water was also discon¬ 
tinued. In order that religious services might be conducted in 
the language of the people, Archbishop Cranmer and his co¬ 
workers prepared the Book of Common Prayer. It consisted 
of translations into noble English of various parts of the old 
Latin service books. This work is still used in the Church of 
England and the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United 
States. 

The short reign of Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of 
Aragon, was marked by a temporary setback to the Protestant 
The Catholic cause - The queen prevailed on Parliament to 
unde^Mar secure a reconciliation with Rome. She also 

Tudor Maty married her Roman Catholic cousin, Philip of 

1553-1558 Spain, the son of Charles V. Mary now began a 
severe persecution of the Protestants. It gained 
for her the epithet of “ Bloody,” but it did not succeed in stamp¬ 
ing out heresy. Many eminent reformers perished, among them 
Cranmer, the former archbishop. Mary died childless, after 
ruling about five years, and the crown passed to Anne Boleyn’s 
daughter, Elizabeth. Anglicanism now once more replaced 
Roman Catholicism as the religion of England. 


220. The Protestant Sects 

The Reformation was practically completed by the close of 
the sixteenth century. The greater part of Germany and 
Extent of Switzerland and all of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 
Protestantism Holland, England, and Scotland had now become 
independent of the Papacy. The unity of western Christendom, 


The Protestant Sects 


595 


which had been preserved throughout the Middle Ages, thus 
disappeared and has not since been revived. 



^v“NV 


~ i ^^c r jii#? 




Calvinist. 

Anglican .... 
Roman Catholic 


Extent of the Reformation, 1524-1572 a.d. 


The reformers agreed in substituting for the authority of 
popes and church councils the authority of the Bible. They 
went back fifteen hundred years to the time of the Common 
Apostles and tried to restore what they believed features of 
to be Apostolic Christianity. Hence they rejected Protestantlsm 
such doctrines and practices as were supposed to have devel¬ 
oped during the Middle Ages. These included belief in Purga¬ 
tory, veneration of relics, invocation of saints, devotion to the 
Virgin, indulgences, pilgrimages, and the greater number of the 
sacraments. The Reformation also abolished the monastic 










































Divisions 

among 

Protestants 


596 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 

system and priestly celibacy. The sharp distinction between 
clergy and laity disappeared; for priests married, lived among 
the people, and no longer formed a separate class. Protestant¬ 
ism affirmed the ability of every man to find salvation without 
the aid of ecclesiastics. The Church was no longer the only 
“gate of heaven.” 

The Protestant idea of authority led inevitably to differences 
of opinion among the reformers. There were various ways of 
interpreting that Bible to which they appealed 
as the rule of faith and conduct. Consequently, 
Protestantism split up into many sects or denomi¬ 
nations, and these have gone on multiplying to the present day. 
Nearly all, however, are offshoots from the three main varieties 
of Protestantism that appeared in the sixteenth century. 

Lutheranism and Anglicanism presented some features in 
common. Both had a book of common prayer, and both recog¬ 
nized the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist. 
The Church of England also kept the sacraments 
of confirmation and ordination. The Lutheran 
churches in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the 
Church of England, likewise retained the episcopate. 

Calvinism departed much more widely from Roman Catholi¬ 
cism. It did away with the episcopate and had only one order 
Calvinism c l er gy — the presbyters. 1 It provided for a 

very simple form of worship. In a Calvinistic 
church the service consisted of Bible reading, a sermon, ex¬ 
temporaneous prayers, and hymns sung by the congregation. 
The Calvinists kept only two sacraments, baptism and the 
eucharist. They regarded the first, however, as a simple under¬ 
taking to bring up the child in a Christian manner, and the sec¬ 
ond as merely a commemoration of the Last Supper. 

The break with Rome did not introduce religious liberty into 
The Europe. Nothing was further from the minds of 

and°freedom Luther, Calvin, and other reformers than the tol- 
of thought eration of beliefs unlike their own. The early 

1 Churches governed by assemblies of presbyters were called Presbyterian; those 
which allowed each congregation to rule itself were called Congregational. 


Lutheranism 

and 

Anglicanism 


The Catholic Counter Reformation 597 

Protestant sects punished dissenters as zealously as the Roman 
Church punished heretics. Complete freedom of conscience 
and the right of private judgment in religion have been secured 
in most European countries only within the last hundred years. 

The Reformation, however, did deepen the moral life of 
European peoples. The faithful Protestant or Roman Catholic 
vied with his neighbor in trying to show that his The 
particular belief made for better living than any Reformation 
other. The period of the Reformation, in con- and morals 
sequence, was more earnest and serious than the period of the 
Renaissance. 


221. The Catholic Counter Reformation 

The rapid spread of Protestantism soon brought about a 
Catholic Counter Reformation in those parts of Europe which 
remained faithful to Rome. The popes now The 
turned from the cultivation of Renaissance art reforming 
and literature to the defense of their threatened popes 
faith. They made needed changes in the papal court and 
appointed to ecclesiastical offices men distinguished for virtue 
and learning. This reform of the Papacy dates from the time 
of Paul III, who became pope in 1534 a.d. He opened the 
college of cardinals to Roman Catholic reformers, even offering 
a seat in it to Erasmus. Still more important was his support of 
the famous Society of Jesus, which had been established in the 
year of his accession to the papacy. 

The founder of the new society was a Spanish nobleman, 
Ignatius Loyola. He had seen a good deal of service in the wars 
of Charles V against the French. While in a hos- gt Ignatius 
pital recovering from a wound Loyola read devo- Loyola, 
tional books, and these produced a profound change i 4 ^ 1 1556 
within him. He now donned a beggar’s robe, 
practiced all the kinds of asceticism which his books described, 
and went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Still later he became 
a student of theology at Paris, where he met the six devout and 
talented men who became the first members of his society. 
They intended to work as missionaries among the Moslems, 



598 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 

but, when this plan fell through, they visited Rome and placed 
their energy and enthusiasm at the disposal of the pope. 

Loyola’s military training deeply affected the character of 
the new order. The Jesuits, as their Protestant opponents 
The Society styled them, were to be an army of spiritual 
of Jesus soldiers, living under the strictest obedience to 

their head, or general, and fighting manfully for the Church 
and against heretics. The society grew rapidly; before Loyola’s 

death it included over a thousand 
members; and in the seventeenth 
century it became the most in¬ 
fluential of all the religious orders. 1 
The activity of the Jesuits as 
preachers, confessors, teachers, and 
missionaries did much to roll back 
the rising tide of Protestantism in 
Europe. 

The Jesuits gave special atten¬ 
tion to education, for they realized 
the importance of winning over 
the young people to 
the Church. Their 
schools were so good that even 
Protestant children often attended 
them. The popularity of Jesuit 
teachers arose partly from the fact 
that they always tried to lead, not 
drive, their pupils. Light punishments, short lessons, many 
holidays, and a liberal use of prizes and other distinctions 
formed some of the attractive features of their system of train¬ 
ing. It is not surprising that the Jesuits became the instruc¬ 
tors of the Roman Catholic world. They called their colleges 
the “fortresses of the faith.” 

The missions of the Jesuits were not less important than their 

1 In 1773 a.d. the pope suppressed the society, on the ground that it had out¬ 
grown its usefulness. It was revived in many European countries during the nine¬ 
teenth century. 



Jesuit schools 


Sx. Ignatius Loyola 

After the painting by Sanchez de 
Coello in the House of the Society of 
Jesus at Madrid. 





The Catholic Counter Reformation 


599 


schools. The Jesuits worked in Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, 
and other countries where Protestantism threatened to become 
dominant. They also invaded the lands which the Jesuit 
great maritime discoveries of the preceding age had missions 
laid open to European enterprise. In India, China, the East 
Indies, Japan, the Philippines, Africa, and the two Americas 
their converts from heathenism were numbered by hundreds of 
thousands. 

The most eminent of all Jesuit missionaries, St. Francis 

Xavier, had belonged to Loyola’s original band. He was a 

little, blue-eyed man, an engaging preacher, an 

- i r .St. Francis 

excellent organizer, and possessed of so attractive Xavier, 

a personality that even the ruffians and pirates 1506-1552 
with whom he had to associate on his voyages 
became his friends. Xavier labored with such devotion and 
success in the Portuguese colonies of the Far East as to gain 
the title of “Apostle to the Indies.” He also introduced Chris¬ 
tianity in Japan, where it flourished until a persecuting emperor 
extinguished it with fire and sword. 

Another agency in the Counter Reformation was the great 
Church Council summoned by Pope Paul III. It met at Trent, 
on the borders of Germany and Italy, and con- Council of 
tinued, with intermissions, for nearly twenty years. Trent, 1545- 
The Council of Trent made no essential changes 1563 AD ‘ 
in the Roman Catholic doctrines, which remained as St. Thomas 
Aquinas and other theologians had set them forth in the Middle 
Ages. It declared that the tradition of the Church possessed 
equal authority with the Bible and reaffirmed the supremacy of 
the pope over Christendom. The council also passed important 
decrees forbidding the sale of ecclesiastical offices and requiring 
bishops and other prelates to attend strictly to their duties. 

The council, before adjourning, authorized the pope to draw 
up a list, or Index, of works which Roman Catholics might not 
read. This action did not form an innovation. The Index 
The Church from an early day had condemned 
and destroyed heretical writings. However, the invention of 
printing, by giving greater currency to new and dangerous ideas, 


6 oo The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


seemed to increase the necessity for the regulation of thought. 
The “Index of Prohibited Books” still exists, and additions to 
the list are made from time to time. 

Still another agency of the Counter Reformation consisted 
of the Inquisition. This was a system of church courts for the 
The discovery and punishment of heretics. Such 

Inquisition courts had been set up in the Middle Ages, for 
instance, to suppress the Albigensian heresy. After the Council 
of Trent they redoubled their activity, especially in Italy, the 
Netherlands, and Spain. 

The Inquistition probably contributed to the disappearance 
of Protestantism in Italy. In the Netherlands, where it worked 
influence with great severity, it only aroused exasperation 

of the and hatred and helped to provoke a successful 

inquisition re v 0 lt of the Dutch people. The Spaniards, on 
the other hand, approved of the methods of the Inquisition and 
supported its activities. It was not abolished in Spain until 
the nineteenth century. 

222. Spain under Philip II, 1556-1598 A.D. 


Soon after the Peace of Augsburg, Charles V determined to 
abdicate his many crowns and seek the repose of a monastery. 
Abdication The plan was duly carried into effect. His brother 
of Charles V Ferdinand I succeeded to the title of Holy Roman 
Emperor and the Austrian territories, while his son, Philip II, 
received the Spanish possessions in Italy, the Netherlands, and 
America. There were now two branches of the Hapsburg 
family — one in Austria and one in Spain. 

The new king of Spain was a man of unflagging energy, strong 
will, and deep attachment to the Roman Church. He had two 
Philip II S reat ideals: to make Spain the foremost state 
in the world and to secure the triumph of the 
Roman Catholic faith over Protestantism. His efforts to real¬ 
ize these ideals largely determined European history during the 
second half of the sixteenth century. 

Philip had inherited an extensive realm. He further widened 
it by the annexation of Portugal, thus completing the unification 



PHILIP II 

After the painting by Titian in the Prado Museum, Madrid 







QUEEN ELIZABETH 

After the painting by Zucchero 



Revolt of the Netherlands 


601 



of the Spanish peninsula. The Portuguese colonies in Africa, 
Asia, and America also passed into Spanish hands. The union 
of Spain and Portugal under one crown never com- Annexat i 0 n of 
manded any affection among the Portuguese, who Portugal, 
were proud of their nationality and of their achieve¬ 
ments as explorers and empire-builders. Portugal separated from 
Spain in 1640 a.d. and has since remained an independent state. 


The EscoriAl 

This remarkable edifice, at once a convent, a church, a palace, and a royal mausoleum, is 
situated in a sterile and gloomy wilderness about twenty-seven miles from Madrid. It was 
begun by Philip II in 1563 a . d . and was completed twenty-one years later. The Escoridl 
is dedicated to St. Lawrence, that saint’s day (August 10,1557) being the day when the Spanish 
king won a great victory over the French at the battle of St. Quentin. The huge dimen¬ 
sions of the Escoridl may be inferred from the fact that it included eighty-six staircases, eighty- 
nine fountains, fifteen cloisters, 1,200 doors, 2,600 windows, and miles of corridors. The 
building material is a granite-like stone obtained in the neighborhood. The Escorial con¬ 
tains a library of rare books and manuscripts and a collection of valuable paintings. In the 
royal mausoleum under the altar of the church lie the remains of Charles V, Philip II, and 
many of their successors. 

223. Revolt of the Netherlands 

The seventeen provinces of the Netherlands occupied the 
flat, low country along the North Sea — the Holland, Belgium, 
and northern France of the present day. They T he 
became Hapsburg possessions during the fifteenth Netherlands 
century and thus formed a part of the Holy Roman Empire. 
As we have learned, Charles V received them as an inheritance, 
and he, in turn, transmitted them to Philip II. 







6o2 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 



The Netherlands were too near Germany not to be affected 
by the Reformation. Lutheranism soon appeared there, only 
Protestantism to encounter the hostility of Charles V, who intro- 
in the duced the terrors of the Inquisition. Many heretics 

er an s were burned at the stake, or beheaded, or buried 
alive. But there is no seed like martyr’s blood. The number 
of Protestants swelled, rather than lessened, especially after 
Calvinism entered the Netherlands. 

In spite of the cruel treatment of heretics by Charles V, both 
Flemish and Dutch remained loyal to the emperor, because he 

had been born and reared among 
them and always considered their 
Philip II and country as his own. 

Philip II, a Spaniard 
by birth and sym¬ 
pathies, seemed to them only a 
foreign master. The new ruler 
did nothing to conciliate the 
people, but governed them des¬ 
potically through Spanish officials 
supported by Spanish garrisons. 
Arbitrary taxes were levied, cities 
and nobles were deprived of their 
cherished privileges, and the ac¬ 
tivity of the Inquisition was re¬ 
doubled. Philip intended to exercise in the Netherlands the 


the 
Netherlands 


William the Silent 


same absolute power enjoyed by him in Spain. His policies 
soon produced a revolt of both Roman Catholics and Protes¬ 
tants against Spanish oppression. 

The Netherlands found a leader in William, Prince of Orange, 
later known as William the Silent, because of his customary 
William the discreetness. He was of German birth, a convert 
1584 *^ l) 33_ t0 and the owner of large estates 

in the Netherlands. William had fair ability as a 
general, a statesmanlike grasp of the situation, and above all a 
stout, courageous heart which never wavered in moments 
of danger and defeat. To rescue the Netherlands from Spain 


Revolt of the Netherlands 


603 



ferOmife: 


Leeuwar.den 


ENGLAND 


Haarle; 


sterdam 


The 


Hoot of Holland 1 


wr^ If 


Flushin 


vmm 


Ostend 


|M||g 

SH«IS 


Dunkirk 


aastric' 


itWP' 3 
C./g)Dina^ 




*l^iilsi 


The Netherlands at the Truce of 1609 a.d. 


























































604 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 

he sacrificed his high position, his wealth, and eventually 
his life. 

The ten southern provinces of the Netherlands, mainly Roman 
Catholic in population, soon effected a reconciliation with Philip 
Separation of and returned to their allegiance. They remained 
in Hapsburg hands for over two centuries. Mod- 
ern .Belgium has grown out of them. The seven 
northern provinces, where Dutch was the language and Protes¬ 
tantism the religion, came together in 1579 a.d. in the Union of 
Utrecht. Two years later they declared their independence of 
Spain. The Dutch Republic, or simply “Holland,” thus took 
its place among European nations. 

The struggle of Holland against Spain forms one of the most 
notable episodes in history. The Dutch at first were no match 
Holland and for the disciplined Spanish soldiery, but they 
Spam fought bravely behind the walls of their cities and 

on more than one occasion repelled the enemy by cutting the 
dikes and letting in the sea. William the Silent perished in a 
dark hour by an assassin’s bullet, but the contest continued. 
England now came to the aid of the hard-pressed republic with 
money and a small army. Philip turned upon his new antag¬ 
onist and sent against England the great fleet called the “In¬ 
vincible Armada.” Its destruction interfered with further 
attempts to subjugate the Dutch, but the Spanish monarch, 
stubborn to the last, refused to acknowledge their independence. 
His successor, in 1609 a.d., consented to a twelve years’ truce 
with the revolted provinces. Their freedom was recognized 
officially by Spain at the close of the Thirtv Years’ War in 
1648 A.D. 


224. England under Elizabeth, 1558-1603 A.D. 

Queen Elizabeth, who reigned over England during the period 
of the Dutch Revolt, came to the throne when about twenty- 
Eiizabeth five >' ears ol d. She was tall and commanding 
in presence and endowed with great physical vigor 
and endurance. Elizabeth had received an excellent education • 
she spoke Latin and several modern languages; knew a little 


England under Elizabeth 605 


Greek; and displayed some skill in music. To her father, 
Henry VIII, she doubtless owed her tactfulness and charm of 
manner, as well as her imperious will; she resembled her mother, 



Silver Crown op Elizabeth’s Reign 


Anne Boleyn, in 
her vanity and 
love of display. 

Elizabeth was 
shrewd, 'far¬ 
sighted, a good 
judge of charac¬ 
ter, and willing to 
be guided by the 
able counselors 

who surrounded her. She understood and loved her people, 
and they, in turn, felt a chivalrous devotion to the “ Virgin 
Queen,” to “Good Queen Bess.” 

The daughter of Anne Boleyn had been born under the ban 
of the pope, so that opposition to Rome was the natural course 
for her to pursue. Two acts of Parliament now Protestantism 
separated England once more from the Papacy m En g land 
and gave the Anglican Church practically the form and doctrines 
which it retains to-day. The Church was intended to include 
every one in England, and hence all persons were required to 
attend religious exercises on Sundays and holy days. Refusal 
to do so exposed the offender to a fine. 

The Reformation made little progress in Ireland. Henry 
VIII, who had extended English sway over most of the island, 


suppressed the monasteries, demolished shrines, Protestantism 
relics, and images, and placed English-speaking in Ireland 
priests in charge of the churches. The Irish people, who re¬ 
mained loyal to Rome, regarded these measures as the tyrannical 
acts of a foreign government. The result was to widen the 
breach between England and Ireland. 

Many of the plots against Elizabeth centered about Mary 
Stuart, the ill-starred Queen of Scots. She was a grand¬ 
daughter of Henry VII, and extreme Roman Catholics claimed 
that she had a better right to the English throne than Elizabeth, 


606 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


because the pope had declared the marriage of Henry VIII 
and Anne Boleyn null and void. Mary, a fervent Roman Cath¬ 
olic, did not please her Scotch subjects, who had 
and & Mary adopted Calvinistic doctrines. She also discredited 
Queen of herself by marrying the man who had murdered 
her former husband. An uprising of the Scottish 
nobles compelled Mary to abdicate the throne in favor of her 
infant son and to take refuge in England. Elizabeth kept her 
rival in captivity for nearly twenty years and finally put her to 
death. 

Philip II, the king of Spain, also threatened Elizabeth’s 
security. At the outset of her reign Philip had made her an 
Elizabeth offer of marriage, but she refused to give herself, 
and Philip II or England, a Spanish master. Philip at length 
became an open enemy of the Protestant queen and did his best 
to stir up sedition among her Roman Catholic subjects. It 
must be admitted that Philip could plead strong justification 
for his attitude. Elizabeth allowed the English “sea dogs” to 
plunder Spanish colonies and seize Spanish vessels laden with 
the treasure of the New World. Moreover, she aided the re¬ 
bellious Dutch, at first secretly and at length openly, in their 
struggle against Spain. Philip put up with these aggressions 
for many years, but finally came to the conclusion that he could 
never subdue the Netherlands or end the piracy and smuggling 
in Spanish America without first conquering England. The 
execution of Mary Stuart removed his last doubts, for Mary 
had left him her claims to the English throne. He at once made 
ready to invade England. Philip seems to have believed that 
as soon as a Spanish army landed in the island, the Roman Cath¬ 
olics would rally to his cause. The Spanish king never had a 
chance to verify his belief; the decisive battle took place on 
the sea. 

Philip had not completed his preparations before Sir Francis 
The Drake sailed into Cadiz harbor and destroyed a 

Armada 1 ” 16 vast amount of naval stores and shipping. This 
1588 a.d. exploit, which Drake called “singeing the king of 
Spain’s beard” delayed the expedition for a year. The “In- 


England under Elizabeth 607 

vincible Armada” 1 set out at last in 1588 a.d. The Spanish 
vessels, though somewhat larger than those of the English, were 
inferior in number, speed, and gunnery to their adversaries, 
while the Spanish officers, mostly unused to the sea, were no 
match for men like Drake, Frobisher, and Raleigh, the best 
mariners of the age. Tl\e Armada suffered severely in a nine- 
days’ fight in the Channel, and many vessels which escaped 
the English guns met shipwreck off the Scotch and Irish coasts. 
Less than half of the Armada returned in safety to Spain. 



The Spanish Armada in the English Channel 

After an engraving by the Society of Antiquarians following a tapestry in the 
House of Lords. 


England in the later Middle Ages had been an important 
naval power, as her ability to carry on the Hundred Years’ 
War in France amply proved. During the six- English 
teenth century, however, she was greatly over- sea-power 
matched by Spain, especially after the annexation of Portugal 
added the naval forces of that country to the Spanish fleets. 
The defeat of the Armada showed that a new people had arisen to 
claim the supremacy of the ocean. The English henceforth began 
to build up a sea-power greater than any other known to history. 

1 Armada was a Spanish name for any armed fleet. 













608 The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


225. The Huguenot Wars in France 

The Huguenots, 1 as the French Protestants were called, natu¬ 
rally accepted the doctrines of Calvin, who was himself a French- 
Xhe man an( l whose books were written in the French 

Huguenots language. Though bitterly persecuted, the Hugue¬ 
nots gained a large following, especially among the pros¬ 
perous middle class of the towns. Many nobles also became 
Huguenots, sometimes because of religious conviction, but often 
because the new movement offered them an opportunity to 
recover their feudal independence and to plunder the estates of 
the Church. The Reformation in France, as well as in Germany, 
had its worldly side. 

Fierce conflicts raged in France between the Roman Catholics 
and the Huguenots. Philip II aided the former and Queen 
Civil war Elizabeth gave some assistance to the latter, 

m France France suffered terribly in the struggle, not only 

from the constant fighting, but also from the pillage, burnings, 
and other barbarities in which both sides indulged. The wealth 
and prosperity of the country visibly declined, and all patriotic 
feeling disappeared in the hatreds engendered by a civil war. 

The episode known as the massacre of St. Bartholomew’s 
Day illustrates the extremes to which political ambition and • 
Massacre religious bigotry could lead. The massacre was an 

Bartholo attempt to extirpate the Huguenots, root and 

mew’s Day, branch, at a time when peace prevailed between 

1572 A.D. them and their opponents. The person primarily 

responsible for it was Catherine de’ Medici, an Italian by birth 
and mother of the youthful king of France. The king had be¬ 
gun to cast off the sway of his mother and to come under the 
influence of Admiral de Coligny, the most eminent of the Hugue¬ 
nots. Catherine first tried to have Coligny murdered. When 
the plot failed, she invented the story of a great Huguenot up¬ 
rising and induced her weak-minded son to authorize a wholesale 
butchery of Huguenots. It began in Paris in the early morning 
of St. Bartholomew’s Day (August 24) and extended to the 

1 The origin of the name is not known with certainty. 


The Huguenot Wars in France 


609 


provinces, where it continued for several weeks. Probably 
ten thousand Huguenots were slain, including Coligny himself. 
The deed was a blunder as well as crime. The Huguenots 
took up arms to defend themselves, and France again experi¬ 
enced all the horrors of internecine strife. 

The death of Coligny transferred the leadership of the Hugue¬ 
nots to Henry Bourbon, king of Navarre. 1 Seventeen years 
after the massacre of 
St. Bartholomew’s 
Day, he inherited the 
French 

Henry IV 

crown 

as Henry IV, the first 
of the Bourbon kings. 

The Roman Catholics 
would not accept a 
Protestant ruler and 
continued the con¬ 
flict. Henry soon 
realized that only his 
conversion to the 
faith of the majority 
of his subjects would 
bring a lasting peace. 

Religious opinions 
had always sat lightly 
upon him, and he 
found no great diffi¬ 
culty in becoming a 
Roman Catholic. 

“Paris,” said Henry, “was well worth a mass.” Opposition to 
the king soon collapsed, and the Huguenot wars came to an end. 

Henry did not break with the Huguenots. He issued in their 
interest the celebrated Edict of Nantes. The Huguenots hence- 

i Navarre originally formed a small kingdom on both sides of the Pyrenees. 
The part south of these mountains was acquired by Spain in 1513 AJ>. See the 
map on page 470 . 



Henry IV 

After an old engraving. The king wears a hat with 
plumes and an aigrette, a ruff, and an embroidered 
cloak. On his breast is the order of Saint Esprit. 






6 io The Reformation and the Religious Wars 


forth were to enjoy freedom of private worship everywhere in 
France, and freedom to worship publicly in a large number 
Edict of v iH a g es an d towns. The edict did not grant 

Nantes, complete religious liberty, but it marked an im- 

1598 a.d. portant step in that direction. A great European 

state had for the first time recognized the principle that two 
rival faiths might exist side by side within its borders. 

Henry now took up the work of restoring prosperity to dis¬ 
tracted France. His interest in the welfare of his subjects 

gained for him the name of 
“Good King Henry.” With 
the help of Sully, his chief min¬ 
ister, the king re- 
France under ° 

Henry iv, formed the finances 

1589-1610 and extinguished 

the public debt. 
He opened roads, built bridges, 
and dug canals, thus aiding the 
restoration of agriculture. He 
also encouraged commerce by 
means of royal bounties for ship¬ 
building. The French at this 
time began to have a navy and 
to compete with the Dutch and 
English for trade on the high 
seas. Henry’s work of renova¬ 
tion was cut short by an assas¬ 
sin’s dagger. Under his son 
Louis XIII, a long period of disorder followed, until an able 
minister, Cardinal Richelieu, assumed the guidance of public 
affairs. Richelieu for many years was the real ruler of France. 
His foreign policy led to the intervention of that country in the 
international conflict known as the Thirty Years’ War. This 
great war, which came in the first half of the seventeenth century 
(1618-1648 a.d.), and involved many European states, was as 
much a political as a religious struggle. We shall reserve our 
discussion of it to the following chapter. 



Cardinal Richelieu 

Louvre, Paris 

After the portrait by the Belgian artist, 
Philippe de Champaigne. 



The Huguenot Wars in France 


6n 


Studies 

i. On an outline map indicate the European countries ruled by Charles V. 
2. On an outline map indicate the principal territorial changes made by the Peace 
of Westphalia. 3. Identify the following dates: 1648 a.d.; 1519 a.d.; 1517 a.d.; 
1588 a.d. ; 1598 a.d. ; and 1555 a.d. 4. Locate the following places: Avignon; 
Constance; Augsburg; Zurich; Worms; and Utrecht. 5. For what were the 
following persons noted: Cardinal Wolsey; Admiral de Coligny; Richelieu; St. 
Ignatius Loyola; Boniface VIII; Frederick the Wise; Gustavus Adolphus; and 
Mary Queen of Scots? 6. Compare the scene at Anagni with the scene at Canossa. 

7. On the map, page 581, trace the geographical extent of the “Great Schism.” 

8. Name three important reasons for the lessened influence of the Roman Church 

at the opening of the sixteenth century. 9. Explain the difference between heresy 
and schism. 10. Why has Wycliffe been called the “morning star of the Reforma¬ 
tion”? 11. Compare Luther’s work in fixing the form of the German language 
with Dante’s service to Italian through the Divine Comedy. 12. What is the origin 
of the name “ Protestant ” ? 13. Why was Mary naturally a Catholic and Elizabeth 

naturally a Protestant? 14. On the map, page 595, trace the geographical extent 
of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. 15. Why did the reformers in each 
country take special pains to translate the Bible into the vernacular? 16. What is 
the chief difference in mode of government between Presbyterian and Congregational 
churches? 17. “The heroes of the Reformation, judged by modern standards, were 
reactionaries.” What does this statement mean? 18. Why is the Council of Trent 
generally considered the most important church council since that of Nicaea? 
19. Mention some differences between the Society of Jesus and earlier monastic 
orders. 20. Compare the Edict of Nantes with the Peace of Augsburg. 


CHAPTER XXVII 

ABSOLUTISM IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE, 1603-1715 A.D. : 


226. The Divine Right of Kings 


Most European nations in the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries were absolute monarchies. The rulers of Europe, 
^ ^ having triumphed over the feudal nobility of the 
Middle Ages, proclaimed themselves to be the sole 
source of authority. Absolutism prevailed everywhere on 
the Continent, except in such small states as Holland, Switzer¬ 
land, and Venice, where aristocracies held the reins of power. 
Democracy was non-existent. The middle and lower classes 
had no real part in law-making, no representative assemblies, 
and no constitutional safeguards against arbitrary authority. 
The kings were everything; their subjects, nothing. 

Absolutism was supported by divine right. The kings 
declared that they held their power, not from the choice or 
Divine right consen t °f their subjects, but by the “grace of 
God.” This theory of divine right first took 
shape during the Middle Ages, out of the controversies between 
the Papacy and the secular rulers of Europe. The popes 
tried to enforce a claim to the obedience of all Christians, 
as well in temporal as in spiritual matters. Emperors and 
kings, resenting what they regarded as papal interference in 
politics, then set up a counter-claim for the divine origin of the 
imperial and royal power. During the Reformation Luther 


1 Webster, Readings in Medieval and Modern History, chapter xxv, “Characters 
and Episodes of the Great Rebellion”; chapter xxvi, “Oliver Cromwell”; chapter 
xxvii, “English Life and Manners under the Restoration”; chapter xxviii, “Louis 
XIV and His Court.” Webster, Historical Source Book, No. 4, “Petition of Right, 
1628”; No. 6, “Instrument of Government, 1653”; No. 7, “Habeas Corpus Act, 
I 679”> No. 8, “Bill of Rights, 1689”; No. 9, “Act of Settlement, 1701.” 

612 


The Absolutism of the Stuarts 


613 


and his followers also exalted the authority of the State against 
the authority of the Church, which they condemned and re¬ 
jected. Providence, they argued, had never sanctioned the 
Papacy, but Providence had really ordained the State and had 
placed over it a ruler whom it was a religious duty to obey. 
The same theory of divine right found acceptance among Angli¬ 
cans, for the Church of England from the first was a religion 
established and supported by the State. 

A very different theory found acceptance in those parts of 
Europe where Calvinism prevailed. In his Institutes , one 
of the most widely read books of the age, Calvin Calvinism 
declares that magistrates and parliaments are the and popular 
guardians of popular liberty “by the ordinance of soverei s nty 
God.” Calvin’s adherents, developing this statement, argued 
that rulers derive their authority from the people and that those 
who abuse it may be deposed by the will of the people. The 
Christian duty of resistance to royal tyranny became a cardinal 
principle of Calvinism among the French Huguenots, the Dutch, 
the Scotch, and most of the American colonists of the seven¬ 
teenth century. We shall now see how influential it was in 
seventeenth-century England. 

227. The Absolutism of the Stuarts, 1603-1642 A.D. 

Absolutism in England dated from the time of the Tudors. 
Henry VII humbled the nobles, while Henry VIII and Elizabeth 
brought the Church into dependence on the crown. Tudor 
These three sovereigns, though despotic, were absolutism 
excellent rulers and were popular with the influential middle 
class in town and country. The Tudors gave England order 
and prosperity, if not political liberty. 

The English Parliament in the thirteenth century had be¬ 
come a body representative of the three estates of the realm, 
and in the fourteenth century it had separated into p ar ii ament 
the two houses of Lords and Commons. Parlia- under the 
ment enjoyed considerable authority at this time. 

The kings, who were in continual need of money, often sum¬ 
moned it, sought its advice upon important questions, a,nd 


614 Absolutism in England and France 


readily listened to its requests. The despotic Tudors, on the 
other hand, made Parliament their servant. Henry VII called 
it together on only five occasions during his reign; Henry VIII 
persuaded or frightened it into doing anything he pleased; and 
Elizabeth consulted it as infrequently as possible. Parliament 
under the Tudors did not abandon its old claims to a share in 
the government, but it had little chance to exercise them. 

The death of Elizabeth ended the Tudor dynasty and placed 
the Stuarts on the English throne in the person of James I. 1 
James I England and Scotland were now joined in a per¬ 
king, 1603- sonal union, though each country retained its 

own Parliament, laws, and established Church. 
The new king was well described by a contemporary as the 
‘‘wisest fool in Christendom.” He had a good mind and abun¬ 
dant learning, but through¬ 
out his reign he showed an 
utter inability to win either 
the esteem or the affection 
of his subjects. This was 
a misfortune, for the Eng¬ 
lish had now grown weary 
of despotism and wanted 
more freedom. They were 
not prepared to tolerate in James, an alien, many things which 
they had overlooked in “Good Queen Bess.” 

The manifest purpose of James to rule as an absolute monarch 
aroused much opposition in Parliament. That body felt little 
James I and sympathy for a ruler who proclaimed himself the 
Parliament source of all law. When James, always extrava¬ 
gant and a poor financier, came before it for money, Parliament 
insisted on its right to withhold supplies until grievances were 
redressed. James would not yield, and got along as best he 
could by levying customs duties, selling titles of nobility, and 
imposing excessive fines, in spite of the protests of Parliament. 
This situation continued to the end of the king’s reign. 

1 James VI of Scotland. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was a granddaughter 
of Henry VII, the first of the Tudors. 



Gold Coin or James I 

The first coin to bear the legend “Great Britain.” 


The Absolutism of the Stuarts 


615 


A religious controversy helped to embitter the dispute be¬ 
tween James and Parliament. The king, who was a devout 
Anglican, made himself very unpopular with the j am es I and 
Puritans, as the reformers within the Church of Puritanism 
England were called. The Puritans had at first no intention 
of separating from the national or established Church, but they 
wished to “purify” it of certain customs which they described 
as “ Romish.” Among these were the use of the surplice, of 
the ring in the marriage service, and of the sign of the cross in 
baptism. Some Puri¬ 
tans wanted to get rid 
of the Book of Com¬ 
mon Prayer altogether. 

Since the Puritans 
had a large majority 
in the House of Com¬ 
mons, it was ihevit- 
able that the par¬ 
liamentary struggle 
against Stuart abso¬ 
lutism should assume 
in part a religious 
character. 

The political and religious difficulties which marked the 
reign of James I did not disappear when his son, Charles I, 
came to the throne. Charles was a true Stuart Charles l 
in his devotion to absolutism and divine right, king, 1625- 
He began almost at once to quarrel with Parlia¬ 
ment. When that body withheld supplies, Charles resorted 
to forced loans from the wealthy and even imprisoned a number 
of persons who refused to contribute. Such arbitrary acts 
showed plainly that Charles would play the tyrant if he could. 

The king’s attitude at last led Parliament to a bold asser¬ 
tion of its authority. It now presented to Charles Petition of 
the celebrated Petition of Right. One of the most Right, 1628 
important clauses provided that all forced loans 
without parliamentary sanction should be considered illegal. 



A Puritan Family 

Illustration in an edition of the Psalms published in 
1563 A.D. 














616 Absolutism in England and France 

Another clause declared that no one should be arrested or 
imprisoned except according to the law of the land. The Peti¬ 
tion thus repeated and reinforced two of the leading princi¬ 
ples of Magna Carta. 1 The people of England, speaking this 
time through their elected representatives, asserted once more 
their right to limit the power of kings. 

Charles signed the Petition, as the only means of securing 
parliamentary consent to taxation; but he had no intention of 
Personal observing it. He managed to govern for the next 
rule of eleven years without calling Parliament in session. 

1629-1640 The conduct of affairs during this period lay largely 

A - D - in the hands of Sir Thomas Wentworth, afterwards 

earl of Strafford, and William Laud, who later became arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury. The king made these two men his prin¬ 
cipal advisers and through them carried on his despotic rule. 
Arbitrary courts, which tried cases without a jury, punished 
those who resisted the royal will. A rigid censorship of the 
press prevented any expression of popular discontent. Public 
meetings were suppressed as seditious riots. Even private 
gatherings were dangerous, for the king had swarms of spies to 
report any disloyal acts or utterances. 

Since Charles ruled without a Parliament, he had to adopt 
all sorts of devices to fill his treasury. One of these was the 
John Hamp l ev y in g of “ship-money.” According to an old 
den and custom, seaboard towns and counties had been 

“ship- „ required to provide ships or money for the royal 

navy. Charles revived this custom and extended 
it to towns and counties lying inland. It seemed clear that the 
king meant to impose a permanent tax on all England without 
the assent of Parliament. The demand for “ ship-money ” 
aroused much opposition, and John Hampden, a wealthy squire 
of Buckinghamshire, refused to pay the twenty shillings levied 
on his estate. Hampden was tried before a court of the royal 
judges and was convicted by a bare majority. He became, how¬ 
ever, a popular hero. 

Archbishop Laud, the king’s chief agent in ecclesiastical 

1 See page 455 . 


The Absolutism of the Stuarts 617 

matters, detested Puritanism and aimed to root it out from 
the Church of England. He put no Puritans to death, but 
he sanctioned cruel punishments of those who Laud » s ec _ 
would not conform to the established Church, clesiastical 
While the restrictions on Puritans were increased, pollcy 
those affecting Roman Catholics were relaxed. Many people 
thought that Charles, through Laud and the bishops, was pre¬ 
paring to lead the Church of England back to Rome. They 



Execution oe the Earl of Strafford 

After a contemporary print. The Tower of London is seen in the background. 


therefore opposed the king on religious grounds, as well as for 
political reasons. 

The king, supported by Archbishop Laud, tried to introduce 
a modified form of the English prayer book into Scotland. The 
Scotch, Presbyterian to the core, drew up a na- The Long 
tional oath, or Covenant, by which they bound P^Uament, 
themselves to resist any attempt to change their 
religion. Rebellion quickly passed into open war, and the 
Covenanters invaded northern England. Charles was then 














618 Absolutism in England and France 

obliged to summon Parliament in session. It met in 1640 a.d. 
and did not formally dissolve till twenty years later. The 
Long Parliament no sooner assembled than it assumed the con¬ 
duct of government. The leaders, including John Hampden, 
John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, openly declared that the House 
of Commons, and not the king, possessed supreme authority 
in the state. Parliament began by sending Strafford and 
subsequently Laud to the scaffold and by abolishing the royal 
courts which had tried cases arbitrarily without a jury. It 
forbade the levying of “ship-money” and other irregular taxes. 
It also took away the king’s right of dissolving Parliament at 
his pleasure and ordered that at least one parliamentary 
session should be held every three years. These measures 
stripped the crown of the despotic powers acquired by the 
Tudors and the Stuarts. 

228. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Revolution, 
1642-1649 A.D. 

The Long Parliament thus far had acted along the line of 
reformation rather than revolution. Had Charles been con- 

Outbreak of tent to acce P t the new arrangements, there might 
the Puritan have been little more trouble. But the proud 
1642 A*!)* 1 * an d imperious king was only watching his chance 
to strike a blow at Parliament. Charles sum¬ 
moned his soldiers, marched to Westminster, and demanded 
the surrender of five leaders, including Pym and Hampden. 
They made their escape, and Charles did not find them in the 
chamber of the Commons. “ Well, I see all the birds are flown,” 
he exclaimed, and walked out baffled. The king’s attempt 
to intimidate the Commons was a great blunder. It showed 
beyond doubt that he would resort to force, rather than 
bend his neck to Parliament. Both Charles and Parliament 
now began to gather troops and prepare for the inevitable 
conflict. 

The opposing parties seemed to be very evenly matched. 
Around the king rallied nearly all of the nobles, the Anglican 
clergy, the Roman Catholics, a majority of the “squires,” or 


Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Revolution 619 
































620 


Absolutism in England and France 


country gentry, and the members of the universities. The 
royalists received the name of “Cavaliers.” The parliamen- 
“ Cavaliers ” tar ians, or “Roundheads,” 1 were mostly recruited 
and “ Round- from the trading classes in the towns and the 
small landowners in the country. The working 
people remained as a rule indifferent and took little part in the 
struggle. 

Both Pym and Hampden died in the second year of the war, 
and henceforth the leadership of the parliamentary party fell 
to Oliver Cromwell. He was a country gentle¬ 
man from the east of England, and Hampden’s 
cousin. Cromwell represented the university of 
Cambridge in the Long Parliament and displayed 
there great audacity in opposing the government. An un¬ 
friendly critic at this time describes “his countenance swollen 


Oliver 

Cromwell, 

1599-1658 

A.D. 


f/J. ^ 
&*uA/LltfL<yivi. 


^J/rwyt 



Specimen of Cromwell’s Handwriting 


and reddish, his voice sharp and untuneable, and his eloquence 
full of fervor.” Though a zealous Puritan, who believed him¬ 
self in all sincerity to be the chosen agent of the Lord, Cromwell 
was not an ascetic. He hunted, hawked, played bowls, and 
other games, had an ear for music, and valued art and learning. 
He showed himself in public life a statesman of much insight 
and a military genius. 

Fortune favored the royalists, until Cromwell took the field. 
He formed a cavalry regiment of “honest, sober Christians,” 
The “ iron- whose watchwords were texts from Scripture and 
sides ” and who charged in battle while singing psalms. These 

Moder^ “Ironsides,” as Cromwell said, “had the fear of 

God before them and made some conscience of 
what they did.” They were so successful that Parliament 

1 So called, because some of them wore closely cropped hair, in contrast to the 
flowing locks of the “Cavaliers.” 


Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Revolution 621 



permitted Cromwell to reorganize a large part of the army into 
the “New Model,” a body of professional, highly disciplined 
soldiers. The “New Model” defeated Charles decisively at the 
battle of Naseby, near the center of England (1645 a.d.). 
Charles then surrendered to the Scotch, who soon turned him 
over to Parliament. 


Interior of Westminster Hall 

Next to the Tower and the Abbey, Westminster Hall, adjoining the Houses of Parliament, 
is the most historic building in London. The hall was begun by William Rufus in 1097 a.d. 
and was enlarged by his successors. Richard II in 1397 a.d. added the great oak roof, which 
has lasted to this day. Here were held the trials of Strafford and Charles I. 

Military operations were now over, but the political situa¬ 
tion was still in doubt. The Puritans by this time had divided 
into two rival parties. The Presbyterians wished p res byterians 
to make the Church of England, like that of Scot- and 
land, Presbyterian in faith and worship. Through Indepen ents 
their control of Parliament they were able to pass acts doing 
away with bishops, forbidding the use of the Book of Common 
Prayer , and requiring every one to accept Presbyterian doc¬ 
trines. The other Puritan party, known as the Independents, 1 
felt that religious beliefs should not be a matter of compulsion. 

1 Also called Separatists, and later known as Congregationalists. 


















622 Absolutism in England and France 

They rejected both Anglicanism and Presbyterianism and de¬ 
sired to set up churches of their own, where they might worship 
as seemed to them right. The Independents had the powerful 
backing of Cromwell and the “New Model,” so that the stage 
was set for a quarrel between Parliament and the army. 

King Charles, though a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, 
hoped to profit by their divisions. The Presbyterian majority 
« price’s i n the House of Commons was willing to restore 

Purge,” the king, provided he would give his assent to 

the establishment of Presbyterianism in England. 
The army, however, wanted no reconciliation with the captive 
monarch and at length took matters into its own hand. A 
party of soldiers, under the command of a Colonel Pride, ex¬ 
cluded the Presbyterian members from the floor of the House, 
leaving the Independents alone to conduct the government. 
This action is known as “Pride’s Purge.” Cromwell ap¬ 
proved of it, and from this time he became the real ruler of 
England. 

The Rump Parliament, as the remnant of the House of Com¬ 
mons was called, immediately brought the king before a High 
Execution Court of Justice composed of his bitterest enemies, 
of Charles I, He refused to acknowledge the right of the court 
to try him and made no defense whatever. Charles 
was speedily convicted and sentenced to be beheaded, “as a 
tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good of the 
people.” He met death with quiet dignity and courage on a 
scaffold erected in front of Whitehall Palace in London. The 
king’s execution went far beyond the wishes of most English¬ 
men; “cruel necessity” formed its only justification; but it 
established once for all in England the principle that rulers are 
responsible to their subjects. 

229. The Commonwealth and the Protectorate, 1649-1660 A.D. 

The Rump Parliament abolished the House of Lords and the 
England a office of king. It named a Council of State, most 
republic of w h 0S e mem b ers were chosen from the House 
of Commons, to carry on the government. England now be- 


The Commonwealth and the Protectorate 623 

came a commonwealth, or national republic. 1 It is clear that 
this republic was the creation of a minority. The Anglicans, 
the Presbyterians, and the Roman Catholics were willing to 
restore the monarchy, but as long as the power lay with the 
army, the small sect of Independents could impose its will on 
the great majority of the English people. 



Great Seal op England under the Commonwealth (Reduced) 

The reverse represents the House of Commons in session. 


Cromwell had to deal with a serious uprising in Ireland, where 
Prince Charles, the oldest son of the dead sovereign, had been 
proclaimed king. Invading Ireland with his Subjection 
trained soldiers, Cromwell captured town after of Ireland 
town, slaughtered many royalists, and shipped many more to 

1 The Swiss Confederation (1291 a.d.) and the United Netherlands (1581 a.d.) 
were federative republics. 






















624 Absolutism in England and France 

the West Indies as slaves. This time Ireland was completely 
subdued. Cromwell confiscated the land of those who had 
supported the royalist cause and planted colonies of English 
Protestants in Ulster, Leinster, and Munster. The Roman 
Catholic gentry were compelled to remove beyond the Shannon 
River to unfruitful Connaught. Even there the public exer¬ 
cise of their religion was forbidden them. Cromwell’s harsh 
measures brought peace to Ireland, but only intensified the 
hatred felt by Irish Roman Catholics for Protestant Eng¬ 
land. 

While Cromwell was still in Ireland, Prince Charles, who 
had been living as an exile at the French court, came to Scot- 
Scotland land. He promised to be a Presbyterian king, 

subdued thus enlisting the support of the Scotch. Crom¬ 

well, however, destroyed the Scotch armies in two pitched 
battles. Prince Charles escaped capture and after thrilling 
adventures as a fugitive returned to France. 

Meanwhile, the Rump Parliament had become more and 
more unpopular. The army, which had saved England from 
Dissolution Stuart despotism, did not relish the spectacle of 
of the a sma ll group of men, many of them selfish and 

Parliament, corrupt, presuming to govern the country. 
1653 A.D. Cromwell found them “horridly arbitrary” and at 
last resolved to have done with them. He entered the House 
of Commons with a band of musketeers and ordered the mem¬ 
bers home. Another Parliament proved equally incapable. 
After a few months’ rule it resigned its authority into the hands 
of Cromwell. 

Cromwell, by force of circumstances, had become a virtual 
dictator, but he had no love of absolute power. He therefore 
The Instm- accepted a so-called Instrument of Government, 
ment of drawn up by some of his officers. It provided that 
Government Cromwell should be Lord Protector for life, with 
the assistance of a council and a Parliament. The Instrument 
is notable as the only written constitution that England has 
ever had. 

The Lord Protector governed England for five years. His 



OLIVER CROMWELL 
After the painting by Sir Peter Lely in 1653 . 
Pitti Gallery, Florence. 















The Restoration and the “Glorious Revolution” 625 

successful conduct of foreign affairs gave to that country an 
importance in the councils of Europe which it had not en¬ 
joyed since the time of Elizabeth. Cromwell died 

. . Cromwell as 

m 1658 a.d. Two years later the nation, weary Lord Pro¬ 
of military rule, recalled Prince Charles, who *® ct ° r ’ ^ 53 ~ 
x 1658 A.D. 

mounted the throne as Charles II. 

It seemed, indeed, as if the Puritan Revolution had been a 
complete failure. This was hardly true. The Revolution 
arrested the growth of absolutism in England. The Puritan 
It created among Englishmen a lasting hostility Revolution 
to despotic power, whether exercised by King, Parliament, Pro¬ 
tector, or army. Furthermore, it sent forth into the world 
ideas of political liberty, which, during the eighteenth century, 
helped to produce the American and French revolutions. 


230 . The Restoration and the “ Glorious Revolution/’ 
1660-1689 A.D. 

Charles II pledged himself to maintain Magna Carta, the 
Petition of Right, and other statutes limiting the royal power. 
The people of England ^wished to have a king, but Reign of 
they also wished their king to govern by the ad- Charles II, 
vice of Parliament. Charles, less obstinate and 1660-1685 
more astute than his father, recognized this fact, 
and, when a conflict threatened with his ministers or Parlia¬ 
ment, always avoided it 
by timely concessions. 

Whatever happened, he 
used to say, he was re¬ 
solved “never to set on 
his travels again.” 

Charles s charm. of man- Silver Crown of Charles II 
ner, wit, and genial humor 

made him a popular monarch, in spite of his grave faults of 
character. One of his own courtiers well described him as a 
king who “never said a foolish thing and never did a wise one. 

The Restoration brought back the Church of England, to¬ 
gether with the Stuarts. Parliament, more intolerant than the 



626 Absolutism in England and France 

king, passed an Act of Uniformity, which made the use of 
the Book of Common Prayer compulsory and required all minis- 
TheDis- ters to express their consent to everything con¬ 
sented tained in it. Nearly two thousand clergymen re¬ 

signed their positions rather than obey the act. Among them 
were found Presbyterians, Independents (or Congregationalists), 
Baptists, and Quakers. The members of these sects, since 
they did not accept the national Church, w^re henceforth 
classed as Dissenters. 1 They might not hold meetings for wor¬ 
ship, or teach in schools, or accept any public office. Thus 
Dissenters, as well as Roman Catholics, had to endure perse¬ 
cution. 

One of the most important events belonging to the reign of 
Charles II was the passage by Parliament of the Habeas Corpus 
Act. The writ of habeas corpus 2 is an order, issued by a judge, 
Habeas requiring a person held in custody to be brought 

Corpus Act, before the court. If upon examination good reason 
1679 a.d. j s shown for keeping the prisoner, he is to be 
remanded for trial; otherwise he is to be freed or released on 
bail. This writ had been long used in England, and one of the 
clauses of Magna Carta expressly provided against arbitrary 
imprisonment. It had always been possible, however, for the 
king or his ministers to order the arrest of a person considered 
dangerous to the state, without making any formal charge 
against him. The Habeas Corpus Act established the principle 
that every man, not charged with or convicted of a known 
crime, is entitled to personal freedom. Most of the British 
possessions where the Common law prevails have accepted 
the act, and it has been adopted by the federal and state legis¬ 
latures of the United States. 

The reign of Charles II also saw the beginning of the modern 
Whigs and party system in Parliament. Two opposing par- 
Tories ties took shape, very largely out of a religious 

controversy. The king, from his long life in France, had become 


1 Or Nonconformists. This name is still applied to English Protestants not 
members of the Anglican Church. 

2 A Latin phrase meaning “You may have the body.” 


The Restoration and the “Glorious Revolution” 627 

partial to Roman Catholicism, though he did not formally 
embrace that faith until at the moment of death. His brother 
James, the heir to the throne, became an open Roman Catholic, 
much to the disgust of many members of Parliament. A bill 
was now brought forward to exclude Prince James from the 
succession, because of his conversion. Its supporters received 
the nickname of Whigs, while those who opposed it were called 
Tories. 1 The bill did not pass the House of Lords, but the two 
parties in Parliament continued to divide on other questions. 
They survive to-day as the Liberals and the Conservatives. 

James II lacked the attractive personality which had made 
his brother a popular ruler; moreover, he was an avowed Ro¬ 
man Catholic and a staunch believer in the divine Reign of 
right of kings. James soon managed to make j am es II, 
enemies of his Protestant subjects by “ suspend- 1685-1688 
ing” the laws against Roman Catholics and by 
appointing the latter to positions of authority and influence. 
Englishmen might have tolerated James to the end of his reign 
(he was then nearing sixty), in the hope that he would be suc¬ 
ceeded by his Protestant daughter Mary. But the birth of a 
son to his Roman Catholic second wife changed the whole 
situation, by opening up the prospect of a Roman Catholic 
succession to the throne. At last a number of Whig and Tory 
leaders invited William, Prince of Orange, stadholder or governor- 
general of Holland, to rescue England from Stuart despotism. 2 

William landed in England with a small army and marched 
unopposed to London. James II, deserted by his courtiers and 
his soldiers, soon found himself alone. He fled to Accegsion of 
France, where he lived the remainder of his days william and 
as a pensioner at the French court. Parliament ^ary, 1689 
granted the throne conjointly to William and Mary, 

William to rule during his lifetime and Mary to have the succes¬ 
sion, should she survive him. Should they have no children the 
throne was to go to Mary’s sister Anne. 

1 Whig had originally been applied to rebellious Presbyterians in Scotland; Tory 
had designated Roman Catholic outlaws in Ireland. • 

2 William was Mary’s husband. See the genealogical table, page 630, note 1. 


628 Absolutism in England and France 

Parliament at the same time took care to safeguard its own 
authority and the Protestant religion. It enacted the Bill of 
The Bill of Rights, which has a place by the side of Magna 
Rights Carta and the Petition of Right among the great 

documents of English constitutional history. This act decreed 
that the sovereign must henceforth be a member of the Anglican 
Church. It forbade him to “suspend” the operation of the laws, 
to levy money, or to maintain a standing army except by con¬ 
sent of Parliament. It also declared that election of members of 
Parliament should be free; that they should enjoy freedom of 
speech and action within the two Houses; and that excessive 
bail should not be required, or excessive fines imposed, or cruel 
and unusual punishments inflicted. Finally, it affirmed the 
right of subjects to petition the sovereign and ordered the hold¬ 
ing of frequent Parliaments. These were not new principles of 
political liberty, but now the English people were strong enough 
to give them the binding form of laws. They reappear in 
the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States. 

Parliament also passed a Toleration Act, conceding to the 
Dissenters the right of public worship, though not the right of 
The Tolera- holding any civil or military office. The Dissen- 
tion Act ters m ight now serve God as they pleased, without 

fear of persecution. Unitarians and Roman Catholics, as well as 
Jews, were expressly excluded from the benefits of the act. The 
passage of this measure did much to remove religion from English 
politics as a vital issue. 

The revolution of 1688-1689 a.d. thus struck a final blow at 
absolutism and divine right in England. An English king be- 
The “ Glori- came henceforth the servant of Parliament, hold- 
ous Revolu- ing office only on good behavior. An act of Parlia¬ 
ment had made him and an act of Parliament 
might depose him. It is well to remember, however, that the 
revolution was not a popular movement. It was a successful 
struggle for parliamentary supremacy on the part of the upper 
classes. England now had a “limited” or “constitutional” 
monarchy controlled by the aristocracy. 


William III and Anne 


629 


231. William III and Anne, 1689-1714 A.D. 

The supremacy won by Parliament was safeguarded, a 
few years later, by the passage of the Act of Settlement. It pro¬ 
vided that in case William III or his sister-in-law A * r 

Act of 

Anne died without heirs, the crown should pass Settlement, 
to Sophia, electress of Hanover, and her descend- 1701 
ants. She was the granddaughter of James I and a Protestant. 
This arrangement deliberately excluded a number of nearer 
representatives of the Stuart house from the succession, because 
they were Roman Catholics. Parliament thus asserted in the 
strongest way the right of the English people to choose their own 
rulers. 

The Act of Settlement not only fixed the succession, but also 
imposed additional restrictions upon the power of an English 
sovereign. No person having an office by appoint- ^ ^ 
ment of the king or receiving a pension from him settlement 
was henceforth allowed to sit in the House of Com- and the 
mons. In order to prevent any royal interference 
with the conduct of justice, judges were permitted to hold their 
places during good behavior and were made removable only by 
Parliament. 

Several other important steps in political liberty were taken 
during the reign of William III. Parliament passed an act limit¬ 
ing the king’s control over the army to only six Further 
months (later, to only a year), at a time. Parlia- gains by 
ment also fell into the habit of making annual ap- Parliament 
propriations for government expenses, instead of for longer pe¬ 
riods. The result was that the king had to call the legislature in 
session each year and to submit every item of expenditure to the 
scrutiny of the legislators. Parliament, finally, refused to con¬ 
tinue the censorship of books, pamphlets, and newspapers, by 
means of which the expression of public opinion had long been 
muzzled. England now began to enjoy a free press — an essential 
accompaniment of a free government. 

Upon the death of William III, Queen Anne mounted the 
throne. Her short reign saw the union of England and Scotland. 


630 Absolutism in England and France 

The two countries, which had had a common king since the ac¬ 
cession of James I, were henceforth to have a common Par- 
Act of Union, liament. The Scotch, however, retained their own 
1707 laws an d Presbyterian Church. After 1707 a.d. it is 

proper to speak of the kingdom of Great Britain, and of the Eng¬ 
lish, Welsh, and Scotch as forming the British people. 

Queen Anne died in 1714 a.d., and in accordance with the 
Act of Settlement, George I, the son of Sophia of Hanover, as- 
The cended the throne. He was the first king of the 

Hanoverian Hanoverian dynasty, which has since continued to 
dynasty ru i e * n Q reat Britain. In 1917 a.d the official name 

of the English ruling family was changed to “House of 
Windsor .” 1 


1 Stuart and Hanoverian Dynasties 


James I (1603-1625) 


Charles I Elizabeth, m. 

1625-1649) 

I 


Charles II James II 

(1660-1685) (1685-1688) 

Mary, m. William, 

Prince of Orange 


William III, m. Mary Anne 

Prince of (1689-1694) (1702-1714) 
Orange, 

King of 

England (1689-1702) 


George IV William IV 

(1820-1830) (1830-1837) 


Frederick V, Elector of the 

Palatinate 

Sophia, m. Ernest Augustus, Elector 
| of Hanover 

George I 
(1714-1727) 


George II 
(1727-1760) 

Frederick, Prince of Wales 

(d. i7Sd 

George III 
(1760-1820) 


Edward, Duke of Kent 

I 

Victoria 

(1837-1901) 

Edward VII 
(1901-1910) 

George V 
(1910- ) 







Absolutism of Louis XIII 631 

232. Absolutism of Louis XIII/ 1610-1643 A.D. 

France in the seventeenth century furnished the best example 
of an absolute monarchy supported by pretensions to divine 
right. French absolutism owed most of all to Car- cardinal 
dinal Richelieu, the chief minister of Louis XIII . 1 Richelieu 
Richelieu’s domestic policy was intended to make the king 
supreme over the feudal nobility of France. Though the 
nobles were still rich and influential, Richelieu beat down their 
opposition by forbidding the practice of duelling, that last rem¬ 
nant of private warfare, by ordering many castles to be blown 
up with gunpowder, and by bringing rebellious dukes and 
counts to the scaffold. The nobles henceforth were no longer 
feudal lords but only courtiers. Richelieu’s foreign policy — 
to aggrandize France at the expense of the Hapsburgs — led 
to his successful intervention on the side of the German Protes¬ 
tants at a critical moment in the Thirty Years’ War. This 
conflict holds so large a place in the history of the seventeenth 
century that it calls for an extended discussion. 

The Peace of Augsburg gave repose to Germany for more than 
sixty years, but it did not form a complete settlement of the 
religious question. There was still room for bitter 0rigin of the 
disputes, especially over the ownership of Church Thirty Years’ 
property which had been secularized in the course ar 
of the Reformation. Furthermore, the peace recognized only 
Roman Catholics and Lutherans and gave no rights whatever to 
the large body of Calvinists. Politics, , as well as religion, made 
for dissension. The Roman Catholic party relied for support on 
the Hapsburg emperors, who wished to unite the German states 
under their control, thus restoring the Holy Roman Empire 
to its former proud position in the affairs of Europe. The 
Protestant princes, on the other hand, wanted to become inde¬ 
pendent sovereigns. Hence they resented all efforts to extend 
the imperial authority over them. 

The Thirty Years’ War was not so much a single conflict 
as a series of conflicts, which ultimately involved nearly all 


1 See page 6 io. 


632 Absolutism in England and France 

western Europe. It began in Bohemia. The Bohemian nobles, 
many of whom were Calvinists, revolted against Hapsburg 
The rule and proclaimed the independence of Bohemia. 

Bohemian The German Lutherans gave them no aid, how- 
revoh ever, an( j t h e emperor, Ferdinand II, easily put 

down the insurrection. Many thousands of Protestants were 
now driven into exile. Those who remained in Bohemia were 
obliged to accept Roman Catholicism. 

The failure of the Bohemian revolt aroused the greatest alarm 
in Germany. Ferdinand threatened to follow in the footsteps 
Danish of Charles V and to crush Protestantism in the land 

intervention 0 f j ts birth. When, therefore, the king of Den¬ 

mark decided to espouse the side of the Protestants, both Luth¬ 
erans and Calvinists supported him. Wallenstein, the emperor’s 
able general, proved more than a 
match for the Danish king, who at 
length withdrew from the contest. 
Ferdinand’s success led him to issue 
the Edict of Restitution, which com¬ 
pelled the Protestants to restore all 
the Church property that they had 
taken since the Peace of Augsburg. 
The enforcement of the edict 
brought about renewed resistance 
on the part of the Protestants. 

There now appeared the single 
heroic figure on the stage of the 
Intervention Thirty Years’ War. 
of Sweden This was Gustavus 
Adolphus, king of Sweden, and a 
man of military genius. He had the deepest sympathy for his 
fellow-Protestants in Germany and regarded himself as their 
divinely appointed deliverer. Gustavus entered Germany with 
a strong force of disciplined soldiers and formed alliances with 
the Protestant princes. With the help of his allies he recon¬ 
quered most of Germany for the Protestants, but fell at the 
battle of Lutzen in the moment of victory. His work, how- 



Gustavus Adolphus 

After the portrait by the Flemish 
artist, Sir Anthony Van Dyck. 


Absolutism of Louis XIII 


633 



After the death of Gustavus the war assumed more and 
more a political character. The German Protestants found an 
ally, strangely enough, in Cardinal Richelieu, the intervention 
all-powerful minister of the French king. Riche- of France 
lieu entered the struggle in order to humble the Austrian Haps- 
burgs and extend the boundaries of France toward the Rhine. 
Since the Spanish Hapsburgs were aiding their Austrian kins¬ 
men, Richelieu naturally fought against Spain also. The war 
thus became a great international conflict in which religion 
played only a minor part. The Holy Roman Emperor had to 





























634 Absolutism in England and France 

yield at last and consented to the treaties of peace signed at two 
cities in the province of Westphalia. 

The Peace of Westphalia ended the long series of wars which 
followed the Reformation. It practically settled the religious 
Peace of question, for it allowed Calvinists in Germany to 
Westphalia, enjoy the same privileges as Lutherans and also 
1648 A.D. withdrew the Edict of Restitution. Nothing was 
said in the treaties about liberty of conscience, but from this 
time the idea that religious differences should be settled by 
force gradually passed away from the minds of men. 

The territorial readjustments made by the Peace of West¬ 
phalia deeply affected the subsequent history of Europe. France 
Territorial received from the Holy Roman Empire a large part 
readjust- of Alsace, in this way obtaining a foothold on the 
meiits upper Rhine. She also secured the recognition 

of her old claims to the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun 
in Lorraine. Sweden gained the western half of Pomerania 
and the bishopric of Bremen. These possessions enabled her 
to control the mouths of the rivers Oder, Elbe, and Weser, 
which were important arteries of German commerce. Branden¬ 
burg — the future kingdom of Prussia — acquired eastern 
Pomerania and several bishoprics, thus becoming the leading 
state in North Germany. The independence of Switzerland 
and of the United Netherlands was also recognized. 

The Peace of Westphalia left Germany more divided than 
ever. Each one of the larger states was free to coin money, 
Disruption of raise armies, make war, and negotiate treaties 
Germany without consulting the emperor. The Holy Ro¬ 
man Empire, in fact, had become a mere phantom. The 
Hapsburgs from now on devoted themselves to their Austrian 
dominions, which included more Magyars and Slavs than Ger¬ 
mans. The failure of the Hapsburgs to conquer Protestant 
Germany long postponed the unification of that country. 


233. Absolutism of Louis XIV, 1643-1715 A.D. 

Richelieu and Louis XIII both died before the close of the 
Thirty Years’ War. The new ruler, Louis XIV, who mounted 


Absolutism of Louis XIV 


635 


the throne in 1643, was only a child, and the management 
of affairs passed into, the hands of Cardinal Mazarin. He was 
an Italian by birth, but he became a naturalized cardinal 
Frenchman and carried out Richelieu’s policies. Mazarin 
Mazarin continued the war against the Hapsburgs, upon which 
Richelieu had entered. The Peace of Westphalia was Mazarin’s 
greatest triumph. He also crushed a formidable uprising against 
the crown, on the part of discontented nobles. Having achieved 
all this, the cardinal could truly say that “ if his language was 
not.French, his heart was.” 

Louis XIV took up the reins of government when in his 
twenty-third year. He ranks among the ablest of French 
monarchs. He was a man of handsome presence, Louis xiv 
slightly below the middle height, with a prominent the man 
nose and abundant hair, which he allowed to fall over his shoul¬ 
ders. A contemporary wrote that he would have been every 
inch a king, “ even if he had been born under the roof of a beg¬ 
gar.” Louis possessed much natural intelligence, a retentive 
memory, and a great capacity for work. It must be added, how¬ 
ever, that his general education had been neglected, and that 
throughout his life he remained ignorant and superstitious. 
Vanity formed a striking trait in the character of Louis. He 
accepted the most fulsome compliments and delighted to be 
known as the “ Grand Monarch ” and the “ Sun-king.” 

Louis gathered around him a magnificent court, which he 
located at Versailles, near Paris. Here a whole royal city, with 
palaces, parks, groves, and fountains, sprang into Court of 
being at his fiat. The gilded salons and mirrored Louis xiv at 
corridors of Versailles were soon crowded with Versailles 
members of the nobility. They now spent little time on their 
estates, preferring to remain at Versailles in attendance on the 
king, to whose favor they owed offices, pensions, and honors. The 
king’s countenance, it was said, is the courtier’s supreme felic¬ 
ity ; “ he passes his life looking on it and within sight of it.” 

The famous saying,'“ I am the State,” 1 though not uttered by 
Louis, accurately expressed his conviction that in him were em- 
1 L’Etat c'est moi. 


6 3 6 


Absolutism in England and France 


bodied the power and greatness of France. Few monarchs have 
tried harder to justify their despotic rule. He was fond of 
Louis XIV, gayety and sport, but he never permitted himself 
the king to be turned away from the punctual discharge 
of his royal duties. Until the close of his reign — the longest 
in the annals of Europe — Louis devoted from five to nine 
hours a day to what he called the “ trade of a king.” 

Conditions in France made possible the despotism of Louis. 
Richelieu and Mazarin had labored with great success to 
Absolutism strengthen the crown at the expense of the nobles 
m France and the com mons. The nation had no Parliament 
to represent it and voice its demands, for the Estates-General had 
not been summoned since 1614 a.d. It did not meet again until 
just before the outbreak of the French Revolution. The French, 
furthermore, lacked independent law courts which could inter¬ 
fere with the king’s power of exiling, imprisoning, or executing 
his subjects. Absolute monarchy thus became so firmly rooted 
in France that a revolution was necessary to overthrow it. 


234. The Wars of Louis XIV 

How unwise it may be to concentrate all authority in the hands 
of one man is shown by the melancholy record of the wars of 
French Louis XIV. To make France powerful and gain 

militarism f ame f or himself, Louis plunged his country into a 

series of struggles from which it emerged completely exhausted. 
Louis himself lacked military talent and did not take a promi¬ 
nent part in any campaign. He was served, however, by excel¬ 
lent commanders. Vauban, an accomplished engineer, espe¬ 
cially developed siege-craft. It was said of Vauban that he never 
besieged a fortress without taking it and never lost one which he 
defended. Louvois, the war minister of the king, recruited, 
equipped, and provisioned larger bodies of troops than ever be¬ 
fore had appeared on European battlefields. It was Louvois 
who introduced the use of distinctive uniforms for soldiers and 
the custom of marching in step. He also established field hos¬ 
pitals and ambulances and placed camp life on a sanitary basis. 


The palace of Versailles now forms a magnificent picture gallery and museum of French history, while the park is a place of holiday resort for Parisians. 

It is estimated that Louis XIV spent one hundred million dollars on the buildings and grounds of Versailles. 


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LOUIS XIV 

After the painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud. 
Louvre, Paris. 








The Wars of Louis XIV 639 

The labors of these men gave Louis the best standing army of 
the age. 

Of the four great wars which filled a large part of Louis’s reign, 
all but the last were designed to extend the dominions of France 
on the east and northeast as far as the Rhine. The Rhine 
That river in ancient times had separated Gaul and boundary 
Germany, and Louis, as well as Richelieu and Mazarin before 
him, regarded it as a natural boundary of France. Some ex¬ 
pansion in this direction had already been made by the Peace of 
Westphalia, when France gained much of Alsace, as well as cer¬ 
tain bishoprics in Lorraine. 1 A treaty which Mazarin negotiated 
with Spain also gave France possessions in Artois and Flanders. 
Louis thus had a good basis for farther advance toward the Rhine. 

The French king began his aggressions by an effort to annex 
the Belgian' or Spanish Netherlands, which then belonged to 
Spain. A triple alliance of Holland, England, and Three wars 
Sweden forced him to relinquish all his conquests, for the Rhine 
except some territory in Flanders (1668 a.d.). Louis blamed the 
Dutch for his setback, and determined to punish them. The 
Dutch represented everything to which he was opposed, for 
Holland was a republic, the keen rival of France in trade, and 
Protestant in religion. He persuaded England and Sweden to 
stand aloof, while his armies entered Holland and drew near to 
Amsterdam. William, Prince of Orange, 2 became at this critical 
moment the Dutch leader. He was a descendant of that William 
the Silent, who, a century before, had saved the Dutch out of the 
hands of Spain. By William’s orders the Dutch cut the dikes 
and interposed a watery barrier to further advance by the 
French. William then formed another Continental coalition, 
which carried on the war till Louis signified his desire for peace. 
The Dutch did not lose a foot of territory, but Spain was obliged 
to cede to France the important province of Franche. Comte 
(1678 a.d.). A few years later Louis again sought to gain addi¬ 
tional territory in the Rhinelands, but again an alliance of Spain, 
Holland, England, and the Holy Roman Empire compelled him 
to sue for terms (1697 a.d.). 

1 S ee page 634. 2 Subsequently William III of England. See page 627. 


640 Absolutism in England and France 

The treaty of peace concluding the third war for the Rhine 
confirmed the French king in the possession of Strasbourg, to- 
Alsace and gether with other cities and districts of Alsace 
Lorraine which he had previously annexed. Alsace was 
now completely joined to France, except for some territories of 



Acquisitions of Louis XIV and Louis XV 


small extent which were acquired about a century later. The 
Alsatians, though mainly of Teutonic extraction, in process of 
time considered themselves French and lost all desire for union 
with any of the German states. The greater part of Lorraine 
was not added to France until the reign of Louis’s successor. 
The Lorrainers, likewise, became thoroughly French in feeling. 







The Wars of Louis XIV 


641 

The European balance of power had thus far been preserved, 
but it was now threatened in another direction. The king of 
Spain lay dying, and as he was without children or The Spanish 
brothers to succeed him, every one wondered what succession 
would be the fate of his vast possessions in Europe and America. 
Louis had married one of his sisters, and the Holy Roman Em¬ 
peror another, so both the Bourbons 
and the Austrian Hapsburgs could 
put forth claims to the Spanish 
throne. When the king died, it 
was found that he had left his entire 
dominions to Philip of Anjou, one 
of Louis’s grandsons, in the hope 
that the French might be strong 
enough to keep them undivided. 

Though Louis knew that accep¬ 
tance of the inheritance would in¬ 
volve a war with Austria and prob¬ 
ably with England, whose ruler, 

William III, was Louis’s old foe, 
ambition and the desire for glory 
triumphed over consideration for 
the welfare of France. Louis 
proudly presented his grandson to 
the' court at Versailles, saying, 

“Gentlemen, behold the king of 
Spain.” 

In the War of the Spanish Succession France and Spain faced 

the Grand Alliance, which included England, Holland, Austria, 

several of the German states, and Portugal. Eu- war of the 

rope had never known a war that concerned so s P anish 

• i 1 tttmt t-tt t i Succession, 

many countries and peoples. William III died 1702-1713 
shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, leaving AD - 
the continuance of the contest as a legacy to his sister-in-law, 
Queen Anne. England supplied the coalition with funds, a 
fleet, and also with the ablest commander of the age, the 
duke of Marlborough. In Eugene, prince of Savoy, the allies 



Marlborough 

A miniature in the possession of the 
Duke of Buccleugh. 





642 


Absolutism in England and France 


had another skillful and daring general. Their great victory at 
Blenheim in 1704 a.d. was the first of a series of successes which 
finally drove the French out of Germany and Italy and opened 
the road to Paris. Dissensions among the allies and the heroic 
resistance of France and Spain enabled Louis to hold the enemy 
at bay, until the exhaustion of both sides led to the conclusion 
of the Peace of Utrecht. 

This peace ranks among the most important diplomatic ar¬ 
rangements of modern times. First, Louis’s grandson was recog- 
Peace of nized as king of Spain and her colonies, on condition 
Utrecht, that the Spanish and French crowns should never 

1713 A.D. k e un p- e( p Bourbon sovereigns since this time 

have continued to rule in Spain. Next, the Austrian Hapsburgs 
gained most of the Spanish dominions in Italy, as well as the Bel¬ 
gian or Spanish Netherlands (henceforth for a century called the 
Austrian Netherlands). Finally, England obtained from France 
possessions in North America, and from Spain the island of 
Minorca and the rock of Gibraltar, commanding the narrow 
entrance to the Mediterranean. 

Two of the smaller members of the Grand Alliance likewise 
profited by the Peace of Utrecht. The right of the elector of 
Brandenburg- Brandenburg to enjoy the title of king of Prussia 
Prussia and was acknowledged. This formed an important 
Savoy step in the fortunes of the Hohenzollern dynasty. 

The duchy of Savoy also became a kingdom and received the 
island of Sicily (shortly afterwards exchanged for Sardinia). 
The house of Savoy in the nineteenth century provided Italy 
with its present reigning family. 

France lost far less by the war than at one time seemed 
probable. Louis gave up his dream of dominating Europe, 
Position of but he kept all the Continental acquisitions made 
France earlier in his reign. Yet the price of the king’s 

warlike policy had been a heavy one. France paid it in 
the shape of famine and pestilence, excessive taxes, heavy 
debts, and the impoverishment of the people. Louis, now 
a very old man, survived the Peace of Utrecht only two 
years. As he lay on his deathbed, the king turned to his little 



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Though not an island, Gibraltar is connected with the Spanish mainland only by a flat strip of sandy ground. The rock, which is about 2% miles in length, rises to 
a height of 1400 feet. At the base and on the summit are powerful batteries, while the sides are pierced with loopholes and galleries for cannon. There is also an 
inclosed harbor in which a fleet can safely anchor. Gibraltar has remained in British hands since 1704. 


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644 Absolutism in England and France 

heir 1 and said, “Try to keep peace with your neighbors. I 
have been too fond of war; do not imitate me in that, nor in 
my too great expenditure.” 


235. France under the “ Grand Monarch ” 



No absolute ruler, however conscientious and painstaking, can 
shoulder the entire burden of government. Louis XIV neces¬ 
sarily had to rely very much on his ministers, of 
whom Colbert was the most eminent. Colbert 
gave France the best administration it had ever known. His re¬ 
forming hand was especially felt in the finances. He made many 

improvements in the 
methods of tax- 
collection and turned 
the annual deficit in 
the revenues into a 
surplus. One of his 
innovations, now 
adopted by all Euro¬ 
pean states, was the 
budget system. Ex¬ 
penditures had previ¬ 
ously been made at 
random, whether the 
treasury was full or 
empty. Colbert drew 
up careful estimates, 
one'year in advance, 
of the probable receipts and expenses, so that the outlay should 
never exceed income. 

Colbert realized that the chief object of a minister of finance 
should be the increase of the national wealth. Hence he tried 
Economic in ever y wa Y to f oster manufactures and commerce, 

measures of Among other measures, Colbert placed heavy 

duties on the importation of foreign products, as a 


Jean-Baptiste Colbert 
After the painting by Philippe de Champaigne. 


Colbert 


1 His great-grandson, then a child of five years. The reign of Louis XV covered 
the period 1715-1774 ad. 


France under the “Grand Monarch” 645 

means of protecting the “infant industries” of France. This 
was the beginning of the protective system, since followed by 
many European countries and from Europe introduced into 
America. Colbert regarded protectionism as only a temporary 
device, however, and spoke of tariffs as crutches by the help of 
which manufacturers might learn to walk and then throw them 
away. 

Colbert shared the erroneous views of most economists of his 
age in supposing that the wealth of a country is measured by the 
amount of gold and silver which it possesses. He Colbert and 
wished, therefore, to provide the French with colonial 
colonies, where they could obtain the products ex P ansl0n 
which they had previously been obliged to purchase from the 
Spaniards, Dutch, and English. Many islands in the West 



Medal of Louis XIV 


Commemorates the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The obverse bears a representation 
of “Louis the Great, the Most Christian King,” the reverse contains a legend meaning “ Heresy 
Extinguished.” 

Indies were acquired at this time, Canada was developed, and 
Louisiana, the vast territory drained by the Mississippi, was 
opened up to settlement. France thus became one of the lead¬ 
ing colonial powers of Europe. 

As long as Colbert lived, he kept on good terms with the 
Huguenots, who formed such useful and industrious subjects. 
Louis, however, h^d no love for the Huguenots, Revocation 
whom he regarded as heretics, and whose Calvinis- 0 f the Edict 
tic principles, he knew, endowed them with scant 
respect for absolute monarchy. Accordingly, the 
king revoked the Edict of Nantes, after the French for almost a 
century had enjoyed religious toleration. The Huguenots were 





646 Absolutism in England and France 


of the 
Huguenot? 


now denied freedom of worship and were also deprived of their 
rights as citizens. They continued to be an outlawed and per¬ 
secuted sect until shortly before the French Revolution. 

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes resulted in a consider¬ 
able emigration of Huguenots from France. What was a loss to 
Emigration that count ry was a gain to England and Holland, 
where the Huguenots settled and where they intro¬ 
duced their arts and trades. Prussia, also, profited 
by the emigration of the Huguenots. Many of them went to 
Berlin, and that capital owed the beginning of its importance to 
its Huguenot population. Louis by his bigotry thus strength¬ 
ened the chief Protestant foes of France. 

Louis was a generous patron of art. French painters and 
sculptors led the world at this time. One of his architects, Man- 
Art under sard, invented the mansard roof, which has been 

Louis XIV largely used in France and other European coun¬ 

tries. This architectural device makes it possible to provide 
extra rooms at a small expense, without adding another 
story to the building. Among the monuments of Louis’s reign 
are the Hotel des Invalides, now the tomb of Napoleon, additions 
to the Louvre, and the huge palace of Versailles. Louis also 
founded the Gobelins manufactory, so celebrated for fine carpets, 
furniture, and metal work. 

The long list of French authors who flourished during the reign 
of Louis includes Moliere, the greatest of French dramatists, 
Literature bci Bontaine, whose fables are still popular, Per- 
under Louis rault, now remembered for his fairy tales, and 
Madame de Sevigne, whose letters are regarded as 
models of French prose. Probably the most famous work com¬ 
posed at this time is the Memoirs of Saint-Simon. It presents 
an intimate and not very flattering picture of the “ Grand Mon¬ 
arch” and his court. 

Louis and his ministers believed that the government should 
Learning encourage research and the diffusion of knowledge. 

Richelieu founded and Colbert fostered the French 
Academy. Its forty members, sometimes called 
the Immortals,” are chosen for their eminent contributions to 


under Louis 
XIV 


I 


France under the “Grand Monarch” 647 

language and literature. The great dictionary of the French 
language, on which they have labored for more than two cen¬ 
turies, is still unfinished. The academy now forms a section of 
the Institute of France. The patronage of Colbert also did 
much to enrich the National Library at Paris. It contains the 
largest collection of books in the world. 

The brilliant reign of the French king cast its spell upon the 
rest of Europe. Kings and princes looked to Louis as the model 
of what a king should be and set themselves to The age of 
imitate the splendor of his court. The French Louis XIV 
language, manners, dress, art, literature, and science became the 
accepted standards of good society in all civilized lands. France 
still retains in large measure the preeminent position which 
she secured under the “Grand Monarch.” 

Studies 

1. Give dates for ( a ) Peace of Utrecht, (b) execution of Charles I, (c) the “ Glori¬ 
ous Revolution,” and (d) revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 2. For what were 
the following men notable: Pym; Duke of Marlborough; Louvois; Hampden; 
Mazarin; William III; and Colbert? 3- Explain and illustrate the following 
terms: (a) budget system; (&) absolutism; (c) writ of habeas corpus; (^mili¬ 
tarism; and (e) “ship-money.” 4- Compare the theory of the divine right of 
kings with the medieval theory of the papal supremacy. 5- Do any European 
monarchs still claim to rule by divine right? 6. What is the essential distinction 
between a “limited” or “constitutional” monarchy and an “absolute” or “auto¬ 
cratic” monarchy? 7. Explain: “Rump Parliament ; Prides Purge , the 
“New Model”; the “Ironsides”; “Cavalier”; and “Roundhead.” 8. What 
circumstances gave rise to (a) the Petition of Right; ( b ) the Instrument of Govern¬ 
ment; ( c ) the Habeas Corpus Act; and (d) the Bill of Rights? 9. Why were the 
reformers within the Church of England called “Puritans”? 10. Contrast the 
Commonwealth as a national republic with the medieval Italian cities, the Swiss 
Confederation, and the United Netherlands, n. Under what circumstances does 
the Constitution of the United States provide for the suspension of the writ of 
habeas corpus ? 12. Why has the Bill of Rights been called the “ third great charter 

of English liberty”? 13. Show that the Revolution of 1688-1689 was a “preserv¬ 
ing” and not a “ destroying ” revolution. 14 ■ By reference to the map on page 640 
show how far the “natural boundaries” of France were attained during the reign 
of Louis XIV. 15. How did the condition of Germany after the Thirty Years’ 
War facilitate the efforts of Louis XIV to extend the French frontiers to the Rhine? 
16. Read Southey’s poem After Blenheim. Does it rightly appreciate the signifi¬ 
cance of this battle in European history? 17. Show that in the Peace of Utrecht 
nearly all the contestants profited at the expense of Spain. 18. “The age of Louis 
XIV in France is worthy to stand by the side of the age of Pericles in Greece and 
of Augustus in Italy.” Does this statement appear to be justified? 




TABLE OF EVENTS AND DATES 


B.C. 

776 First recorded celebration of the Olympian games. Greek chronology 
begins to be precise from this date. 

753 (?) Rome founded. Traditional date. 

606 Destruction of Nineveh. End of the Assyrian Empire, which had long 
dominated the Near East. 

586-539 Captivity of the Hebrews in Babylonia. 

539 Babylon captured by Cyrus the Great. 

509 (?) Roman Republic established. Traditional date. 

490 Marathon, 480 Salamis, and 479 Plataea and Mycale. The four battles 
which preserved (Greece from Persian domination and European 
culture from submergence in that of Asia. 

461-429 Age of Pericles at Athens. 

451-450 Laws of the Twelve Tables published. The basis of all later Roman 
law. 

431-404 The Peloponnesian War. 

401-400 Expedition of the “ Ten Thousand.” Disclosed to the Greeks the 
weakness of the Persian Empire. 

390 (?) Rome captured by the Gauls. 

338 Battle of Chaeronea. The triumph of the Macedonian Kingdom over 
the disunited city-states of Greece. 

333 Issus and 331 Arbela. The two battles which overthrew the Persian Em¬ 
pire and established Macedonian supremacy throughout the Near East. 

323 Death of Alexander the Great. 

264 Beginning of the First Punic War. 

202 Battle of Zama. Ended the Second Punic War and left Rome without 
a rival in the western Mediterranean. 

146 Carthage and Corinth destroyed by the Romans. 

58 50 Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. Opened up much of western 
Europe to Graeco-Roman civilization. 

44 Assassination of Julius Caesar. 

31 Battle of Actium. Ended civil war between Antony and Octavian, leav¬ 
ing the latter supreme in the Roman state. 

4 (?) Birth of Christ. 


A.D. 

70 Jerusalem captured and destroyed by the Romans. 

212 Edict of Caracalla. Extended Roman citizenship to all free-born men 
in the Roman Empire. 

284 Reorganization of the Roman Empire by Diocletian. The imperial 
system henceforth became an undisguised absolutism of the Oriental 
type. 


Table of Events and Dates 


650 

313 Edict of Milan. Granted general religious toleration and placed Chris¬ 
tianity on a legal equality with the other religions of the Roman 
world. 

325 Council of Nicaea. Framed the Nicene Cteed, which is still the ac¬ 
cepted summary of Christian doctrine in Roman Catholic, Greek, 
and most Protestant churches. 

330 Constantinople (New Rome) made the capital of the Roman Empire. 

378 Battle of Adrianople. The defeat of the Romans permitted the Germans 
to enter the Empire. 

410 Capture of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth. 

451 Battle of Chalons. Saved western Europe from being conquered by the 
still barbarous Huns. 

476 Deposition of Romulus Augustulus. Extinction of the line of Roman 
emperors in the West. 

493-526 Reign of Theodoric the Ostrogoth. 

496 Clovis accepted Catholic Christianity. Paved the way for intimate 
relations between the Franks and the Papacy. 

529 (?) Rule of St. Benedict. Established the form of monasticism which 
ultimately prevailed everywhere in western Europe. 

529-534 Codification of Roman law under Justinian. The Corpus Juris 
Civilis formed perhaps the most important contribution of Rome 
to civilization. 

597 Augustine’s mission to the Anglo-Saxons. 

622 The Hegira (Flight) of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina. Marks 
the beginning of the Mohammedan era. 

732 Battle of Tours. The victory of the Franks under Charles Martel 
stemmed the farther advance of the Moslems into western Europe. 

756 “ Donation of Pepin.” 

800 Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans. Formation of the so- 

called Holy Roman Empire. 

843 Treaty of Verdun and 870 Treaty of Mersen. Marked important stages 
in the dissolution of Charlemagne’s dominions. 

862 The Northmen in Russia. 

871-901 Reign of Alfred the Great. 

874 Colonization of Iceland begun by the Northmen. 

911 Normandy acquired by the Northmen. 

962 Otto I, the Great, crowned Roman Emperor. Revival of the so-called 
Holy Roman Empire. 

982 Greenland discovered by the Northmen. 

988 Christianity introduced into Russia. The Russian Slavs henceforth 
came under the influence of the Greek Church and Byzantine 
civilization. 

7 1000 (?) Leif Ericsson’s voyage to Vinland. 

1058 Abbasid Caliphate overthrown by the Seljuk Turks. 

1066 Battle of Hastings. Resulted in the Norman Conquest of England. 

1077 Humiliation of Henry IV by Gregory VII at Canossa. 

1095 Council of Clermont. Beginning of the crusades. 

1122 Concordat of Worms. A compromise arrangement between the Papacy 
and the Holy Roman Empire. 


Table of Events and Dates 


651 


1189 

1198 

1204 

1206 

*-1215 

1271- 

1273 

1291 

1295 


1309 
£ 1337 


1192 Third Crusade. 

1216 Pontificate of Innocent III. 

1261 Latin Empire of Constantinople. 

1227 Conquests of Jenghiz Khan. Brought a large part of Asia and 
eastern Europe under Mongol sway. 

Magna Carta. Defined the rights of Englishmen and inspired their 
later struggles for political liberty. 

1295 Travels of Marco Polo. Polo’s narrative of his travels greatly 
increased the interest of Europeans in the Far East. 

Rudolf of Hapsburg became Holy Roman Emperor. 

Fall of Acre. End of the crusades. 

“ Model Parliament ” of Edward I. A regularly elected Parliament, 
which for the first time included representatives of all classes of 
the English people. 

1377 “ Babylonian Captivity ” of the Papacy. The removal of the 

popes to Avignon weakened their political authority. 

1453 Hundred Years’ War between England and France. 


1348-1349 Black Death in Europe. Hastened the decline of serfdom and the 
emancipation of the peasantry. 

. 1378-1417 The “ Great Schism.” Weakened the spiritual supremacy of the 
popes over western Christendom. 

1405 Death of Timur the Lame. 

1414-1418 Council of Constance. Ended the “ Great Schism.” 

* 1453 Constantinople captured by the Ottoman Turks. End of the Byzan¬ 
tine Empire and beginning of the Eastern Question. 

1456 (?) First book printed at Gutenberg’s press in Mainz, Germany. 
1462-1505 Reign of Ivan III, the Great. 

1479 Union of Castile and Aragon under Ferdinand and Isabella. 

1487 Cape of Good Hope rounded by Diaz. The final step in the Portuguese 
exploration of the western coast of Africa. 

' 1492 Discovery of America by Columbus. 

1497 North America rediscovered by John Cabot. 

1498 India reached by Vasco da Gama. The Portuguese thus opened up 

an ocean passage from Europe round Africa to the Far East. 

1500 Brazil discovered. 

1513 Discovery of the Pacific by Balboa. 

1517 Luther’s Ninety-five Theses posted. Beginning of the Protestant 
Reformation in Germany. 

Y 1519-1522 Circumnavigation of the globe. 

1534 Act of Supremacy. Beginning of the Reformation in England. 

1543 The Copernican theory. 

1545 Silver mines of Potosf in Boliva discovered. 

1545-1563 Council of Trent. An important agency in the Catholic Counter 
Reformation. 

<-1555 Peace of Augsburg. Closed the first period of the Reformation in 
Germany. 

1556-1598 Philip II, king of Spain. 

1558-1603 Elizabeth, queen of England. 

1577-1580 Drake’s voyage around the world. 


652 Table of Events and Dates 

1 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Gave to England control of the sea 
and mad'e possible English colonization of North America. 

1589-1610 Henry IV, king of France. 

L 1598 Edict of Nantes issued by Henry IV of France. A noteworthy step 
in the direction of religious toleration. 

{^1618-1648 The Thirty Years’ War. 

1642- 1649 The Puritan Revolution in England. 

1648 Peace of Westphalia. Ended the religious wars. 

1643- 1715 Reign of Louis XIV. 

1688-1689 The “ Glorious Revolution.” Completed the work of the Puritan 
Revolution by overthrowing absolutism and divine right in England. 

1702-1713 War of the Spanish Succession. 

1704 Battle of Blenheim. Defeated the attempt of Louis XIV to make 
France supreme in western Europe. 

1713 Peace of Utrecht. 


INDEX AND PRONOUNCING 
VOCABULARY 


N OXE . —The pronunciation of most proper names is indicated either by a simplified 
spelling or by their accentuation and division into syllables. The diacritical marks em¬ 
ployed are those found in Webster’s New International Dictionary and are the following : 


a as in ale. 


a 

it 

a 

senate. 

a 

u 

a 

c£ire. 

a 

a 

a 

am. 

a 

a 

a 

account. 

a 

u 

a 

arm. 

a 

u 

11 

ask. 

a 

it 

a 

sofa. 

e 

a 

a 

eve. 

6 

it 

a 

event. 

e 

a 

a 

end. 

e 

u 

u 

recent. 

e 

it 

it 

maker. 

i 

11 

it 

ice. 

i 

11 

a 

ill. 


o as in old. 

6 “ “ obey. 

6 “ “ orb. 

6 “ “ odd. 

O “ “ Soft. 
o “ “ connect, 
u “ “ use. 
ft “ “ ftnite. 
u “ “ urn. 
u “ “ up. 
u 11 u circtts. 
u “ “ menu, 
oo as in food, 
bo “ “ foot, 
ou “ “ out. 


oi as in oil. 

ch“ “ chair. 

g “ “ go. 

ng“ “ sing. 

p “ “ iqk. 

fh “ “ then. 

th “ “ thin. 

tu “ “ nature. 

du“ “ verdure. 

k for ch as in Ger. ich, ach. 

n as in Fr. bon. 

y “ “ yet. 

zh for z as in azure. 


Ab-bas'ids, 352 and note 2, 353. 

Abelard (Fr. pron. a-ba-lar'), Peter, 
509, 510. 

“Absolute Emperors,” the, 220- 
224. 

Abu Bekr (a'boo bek”r), 346, 352. 

Abyssinia, 402. 

Academy, the, at Athens, 261, 275, 

- 288 - 

Achsea (d-ke'd), a district of south¬ 
ern Greece, 109, 434. 

Achilles (d-kil'ez), 78. 

Acre (a'ker), 432, 435. 

A-crop'o-lis, the Athenian, 108, 
288, 290-292. 

Actium (&k'shi-ttm), naval battle 
of, 190, 191, 223. 

Act of Settlement, the, 633, 634. 

Act of Supremacy, the, 593. 

Acts of the Apostles, the, 209. 

A-dri-a-no'ple, 242, 243. 

TEgean (e-je'dn) Age, the, 68-72. 

,<Egean Sea, 66, 67, 72, 73, 88. 


iE-gos-pot'a-mi, battle of, 111. 

iEneas (e-ne'ds), 142, 277. 

Mneid (e-ne'id), Vergil’s, 277. 

.Eschylus (Ss'ki-liis), Greek drama¬ 
tist, 271. 

Aetius (a-e'shi-iis), 247, 248. 

iEtna (gt'nd), Mount, 137. 

Africa, Portuguese exploration of, 
557, 558. 

Africa, North, Phoenician colonists 
in, 162 ; as’a Roman province, 
217 ; Vandal kingdom in, 245, 
330 ; conquered by the Arabs, 
350, 351. 

Ag'o-ra, the Athenian, 261, 290. 

Agrarian law of Tiberius Gracchus, 
175, 176. 

Agriculture, beginnings of, 8, 22 ; 
in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, 
44, 45 ; early Roman, 143 ; de¬ 
cline of Roman, 173, 175, 177 ; 
Arab improvements in, 354 \ 
medieval, 393, 394. 


653 




654 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Ah'ri-man, 54. 

Ahuramazda (a-hob-rd-maz'da), 
54, 229. 

“Aids,” the feudal, 382. 

Aix-la-Chapelle (aks-la-sha-pel'), 

310, 314. 

Al-a-man'ni, the, 303, 304. 

Al'a-ric the Visigoth, 243, 244. 

Al'ba Lon'ga, 140, 142, 143. 

Albigenses (5l-bi-jen'sez), a heret¬ 
ical sect, 414, 583. 

Albuquerque (al-bdo-kSr'k&), 559, 
565. 

Alchemy, 515. 

Al-ci-bi'a-des, 110. 

Alcuin (al'kwin), 310. 

Aldus Manutius (al'dus md-nu'shl- 
tfs), 534. 

Alexander the Great, 119-127, 165. 

Alexander III, pope, 421 ; VI, 564. 

Al-ex-an'dri-a, founded by Alex¬ 
ander the Great, 123 ; as a com¬ 
mercial center, 128, 211 ; as a 
home of learning, 130, 131 ; pop¬ 
ulation of, 208. 

Alexius (d-16k'si-&s) I, Roman 
emperor in the East, 426, 427. 

Alfred the Great, king of England, 
371, 372. 

Al-ham'bra, the, 357, 359, 469. 

A'li, fourth caliph, 352. 

Allah (ai'd), 343, 346. 

Ahli-a River, battle of the, 153. 

Alphabet, Egyptian, 10 ; Phoe¬ 
nician, 10, 11 ; Etruscan, 138, 
140 ; Greek, 139 ; Runic, 240, 
241, 361. 

Alsace (ai-sas'), 303, 314, 613, 639, 
640. 

Am-en-ho'tep IV, Egyptian king, 
54. 

America, the Northmen in, 368 ; 
discovered by Columbus, 563 ; 
naming of, 564 ; the Indians, 
566-569 ; Spanish explorations 
and conquests in, 569, 570 ; the 
Spanish colonial empire in, 570- 
573 ; English and French ex¬ 
plorations in, 573-575. 


Am-phic'ty-o-ny, the Delphic, 91. 

Amphitheaters, Roman, 216, 286, 
287. 

Amusements, Athenian, 264, 265 ; 
Roman, 265-268 ; in the feudal 
castle, 390 ; medieval, 520-524. 
See also Festivals. 

An-ab'a-sis , Xenophon’s, 121, 272. 

Anagni (a-nan'ye), 580. 

Ancestor worship, Roman, 145, 253. 

An'ge-vin dynasty, the, 451, note 1. 

Anglicanism, establishment of, in 
England, 592-594 ; organization 
and doctrines, 596 ; under the 
Stuarts, 619, 621, 625, 629, 630, 
632. 

An'glo-Sax'ons, the, conquer Brit¬ 
ain, 246, 319, 320 ; their king¬ 
doms in Britain, 320 ; their cul¬ 
ture, 322 ; converted to Roman 
Christianity, 322, 323, 411 ; 

language of the, 376, 501. 

Animals, domestication of, 6, 7 and 
note 2. 

Anne, queen of England, 631, 633, 
634, 641. 

Antioch (&n'ti-ok), 128, 129, 209, 
211, 214, 230, 349, 428. 

Antonine Caesars, the, 200, 201. 

An-to-ni'nus Pi'us, Roman em¬ 
peror, 200. 

An-to 'ni-us, M ar 'cus. See Antony. 

Antony, 187-190. 

Aphrodite (af-r6-dl'te), attributes 
of, 76. 

A-pol'lo, attributes of, 76 ; his 
oracle at Delphi, 78, 79. 

Apprentices in guilds, 484, 485. 

April Fool’s Day, 521. 

Aqueducts, Roman, 157, 284, 285. 

Aquinas (a-kwi'nds), St. Thomas, 
513, 514. 

Arabia, physical features of, 21, 
342. 

Ar'abs, the, as foes of the Roman 
Empire in the East, 333, 349, 
350 ; migratory and sedentary, 

342, 343 ; under Mohammed, 

343, 344 ; their conquests, 348- 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 655 


351 ; civilization of, 353-359. 
See also Moslems. 

Aragon (a-ra-gon'), 469. 

Ar-be'la, battle of, 124. 

Ar-ca'di-us, Roman emperor in the I 
East, 243. ^ 

Arch, the round, 61, 62, 139, 281, 
282, 507, 535 ; the pointed, 508. i 
Archbishop, church official, 407. 
Arches, Roman triumphal, 199, 
236, 286, 295. 

Ar-chi-me'des, 131. 1 

Architecture, prehistoric, 13 ; ± 
Egyptian, Babylonian, and As¬ 
syrian, 58 ; Etruscan, 138, 139 ; - 
Greek, 278-281 ; Roman, 282- 
287 ; Byzantine, 336,- 337 ; 
Arab, 358, 359 ; medieval, 505- 
509 ; Renaissance, 535, 536, 539. 
Ar-e-op'a-gus, hill, 288 ; Council 
of the, 288, 290. 

Ares (a'rez), 226. 

Ar'gos, 82, 97, 109. 

Arian heresy, the, nature of, 235, 
236 ; accepted by the Teutonic 
invaders, 236, 237, 241, 300, 302, 
304, 305, 326, 411. 

Ar-is-ti'des, 96, 97, 101. 
Ar-is-toph'a-nes, Athenian drama¬ 
tist, 272. 

Aristotle (&r'is-tot’l), Greek phi¬ 
losopher, 120, 275, 513, 514, 531, 
547. 

Arithmetic, 60, 509. 

A'ri-us, 235, 236. 

‘‘Armada (ar-ma'da), Invincible,” 
the, 604, 606, 607. 

Armenia, 21, 22, 121, 200, 402. 
Armor, medieval, 385, 386. 

Army, Macedonian, under Philip 
II, 116 ; Roman, during the 
early republic, 158-160 ; under 
the empire, 202, 203 ; the feudal, 
385 ; Cromwell’s, 624, * 625 ; 
Louis XIV’s, 638. 

Art, primitive, 13-15 ; Oriental, 
58-60 ; Aegean, 71 ; Greek, 
278-282, 290-292 ; Roman, 282- 
288, 294-296 ; Byzantine, 336, 


337 ; Arab, 358, 359 ; Ren¬ 
aissance, 535-537, 539. See also 
Architecture, Painting, Sculp¬ 
ture. 

Ar'te-mis, 84. 

Arthur, King, myth of, 503, 504, 
561. 

Artisans, Oriental, 44 ; Athenian, 
106 ; Roman, under the empire, 
212, 213, 224 ; in the Middle 
Ages, 483-485. See also Guilds. 
Artois (ar-twa'), 639. 

Aryan (ar'yan), 16, note 1. See 
also Indo-European. 

Asia, grand divisions of, 19 ; physi¬ 
cal contrasts between Europe and, 
65 ; Roman province of, 171; me¬ 
dieval explorations in, 552-555. 
Asia Minor, 21, 67, 322. 

Assembly, of freemen, in early 
Greece, 82 ; Spartan, 84 ; 
Athenian, 86, 87, 104, 105, 117, 
151, 290 ; Roman assemblies, 
149, 151, 176, 186, 194. 

Assisi (as-se'ze), 413. 

Assuan (as-swan') dam, the, 24, 
note 1. 

As-syr'i-a, rise of, 34 ; under Sar- 
gon II and Sennacherib, 34, 35 ; 
downfall of and partition of, 36. 

■ Astrolabe, the, 555. 

, Astrology, Babylonian, 53 ; in the 
Middle Ages, 515, 516. 
Astronomy, Egyptian and Baby- 
. Ionian, 60, 61 ; Greek, 133 ; 

’ Arab, 356, 358 ; medieval, 515, 
516 ; during the Renaissance, 
546, 547. 

Ath-a-na'si-us, 236. 

3 A-the'na, 76, 264, 290, 291. 

3 Athens, early history of, 85-87 ; 
r aids the Ionian Greeks, 95 ; 

repulses the Persians at Mara- 
• thon, 95, 96 ; abandoned to 
Xerxes, 98 ; rebuilding and for- 
l, tification of, 100, 288 ; under 
Themistocles, Aristides, and Ci- 
mon, 100-103 ; under Pericles, 
>, 103-108 ; the Peloponnesian 








656 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


War, 108-111 ; unites with 
Thebes against Philip, 118 ; 
under the Roman Empire, 209 ; 
the ancient city as an art center, 
288-292. 

Athletics, Greek, 79, 80, 254, 255, 
261. 

Atlantic Ocean, 133, 576. 

At-lan'tis, myth of, 560. 

At'ti-ca, 85, 98, 100. 

At'ti-la the Hun, 247, 248. 
Augsburg (ouks'bdorK), city, 494 ; 

Peace of, 589, 590, 610. 

Au'gu-ry, Roman, 142, 148. 
Au-gus'tine, missionary to the 
Anglo-Saxons, 322, 323, 411. 
Au-gus'tus, character and person¬ 
ality, 193, 194 ; as emperor, 194, 

195 ; the Augustan Age, 195, 

196 ; deification of, 196, 197. 
Au-re'li-an, Roman emperor, 220, 

241, 294. 

Au-re'li-us, Marcus, Roman em¬ 
peror, 193, 200, 201, 226. 
Aus'pi-ces, Roman, 148 and note 1. 
Austria, rise of, 316 ; growth of, 
under the Hapsburgs, 423, 470- 
472 ; Switzerland and, 472, 473. 
A'vars, the, 309, 314, 334. 

Avignon (a-ven-yoN'), residence of 
the popes at, 580, 581. 

Azores (d-zorz') Islands, 557. 

Aztec Indians, the, 568, 569. 

Ba'ber, 442, 443. 

Bab'y-lon, capital of Babylonia, 
25, 38, 124, 125. 

Bab-y-lo'ni-a, physical features and 
productions of, 22 ; early in¬ 
habitants of, 24 ; under Ham¬ 
murabi, 25 ; under Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar, 36, 37. 

“Babylonian Captivity” of the 
Church, the, 580, 581. 

Bacon, Roger, 514, 515, 516 ; 
Francis, 548. 

Bagdad (bag-dad'), capital of the 
Abbasid caliphate, 353 ; as a 
commercial center, 355. 


Balboa (bal-bo'a), Vasco Nunez de, 
569. 

Balder, myth of, 364. 

Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, 429. 

Ball, John, 550, 556. 

Banking, 47, 490. 

Ban'nock-burn, battle of, 461. 

Ba-sil'i-cas, Roman, 283, 284, 295, 
505, 506. 

Bas-reliefs, 34, 35, 38, 61, 256, 287. 

Baths, Roman, 213, 263, 285, 286, 
295. 

Bavaria, 315, note 1, 316, 471. 

Bed'ou-ins, the, 342, 343. 

Behaim (ba'hlm), Martin, 561, 562. 

Belgium, 305, 314, 496, 497, note 1, 
601, 604. 

“Benefit of clergy,” 404, 405. 

Ber'bers, the, 351. 

Berlin, 646. 

Bible, Old Testament, 58 ; New 
Testament, 230. 

Biblical translations, 538, 584, 588. 

Bill of Rights, the, 632. 

Bills of exchange, introduction of, 
490. 

Bishop, church official, 232 and 
note 3, 406, 407, 420. 

“Black Death,” the, 549. 

Blenheim (bl&n'im), battle of, 642. 

Boccaccio (bok-ka'cho), 532. 

Bohemia, 309, 471, 585, 611. 

Boleyn (bool'in), Anne, 592, 594, 
605, 606. 

Bologna (bo-lon'ya), university of, 
510, 511. 

Bon'i-face, missionary, 412 ; VIII, 
pope, 579, 580. 

Bookkeeping by double-entry, 490. 

Book of Common Prayer , the, 594, 
619, 621, 625, 630. 

Book of the Dead, Egyptian, 55, 56. 

Bourgeoisie (boor-zhwa-ze'), the, 
479 and note 1, 613, 642. 

Brandenburg (bran'den-bborK), 
315, 473, 613. 

Brazil, 559 and note 2, 570. 

Britain, visited by Pytheas, 131 ; 
Caesar’s expeditions to, 183; 





Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 657 


becomes a Roman province, 197 ; 
overrun by the Jutes, Angles, 
and Saxons, 246, 319 ; nature of 
the Anglo-Saxon conquest of, 
319, 322. 

British Isles, the, their geograph¬ 
ical situation, 66 ; Christianity 
in the, 322-325 ; unification of, 
under English kings, 458-462. 

Bronze, 5, 71, 73, 566. 

Bruce, Robert, 461. 

Bruges (Fr. pron. bruzh), as a com¬ 
mercial center, 488, 497, 576. 

Bru'tus, 187-189. 

Bubonic plague, the, 549, 613. 

Bulgarians, the, 334, 335, 350. 

“Bulls,” papal, 415 and note 1. 

Bur-gun'di-ans, the, found a king¬ 
dom in Gaul, 245 ; conquered by 
the Franks, 245, 303 ; become 
Catholic Christians, 411. 

Bur'gun-dy, 245, 589. 

Buttress, the flying, 508. 

“ Byzantine Empire/’ the, 328, 329. 

Byzantium (bi-z&n'shl-dm), 79, 88, 
222, 329. See also Constanti¬ 
nople. 

Cabot, John, 573, 574. 

Cadiz (ka'dgz), 50, 576, 606. 

Caesar (se'zdr), Gaius Julius, 182- 
187, 277. 

Caesar, the title, 197, note 2, 22 L. 

Cairo (ki'ro), 23, 337, 352, 356. 

Calais (Fr. pron. ka-le'), 467 and 
note 2. 

Calendar, beginnings of the, 12, 
13 ; Egyptian solar year, 60, 
61 ; Caesar’s reform of the, 186 
and note 3 ; the Maya, 567. 

Ca-lig'u-la, Roman emperor, 197. 

Caliph (ka'lff), the title, 352, 353 
and note 1. 

Cal'iph-ate, the, 352, 353. 

Calvin, John, 591, 617. 

Calvinism, diffusion of, 591 ; its 
organization and doctrines, 596. 

Cam-by'ses, Persian king, 38. 

Camoens (k&m'o-8ns), 558. 


Camp, the Roman fortified, 156,159. 

Canaan (ka'ndn), 29, 30. 

Canada, French explorations in, 
573, 574. 

Canary Islands, 563. 

Can'nse, battle of, 166, 167. 

Canon law. See Law. 

Ca-nos'sa, humiliation of Henry 
IV at, 420. 

Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s, 501, 
541, 551. 

Canute (kd-nut'), king of England, 
372. 

Capet (Fr. pron. ka-p6'), Hugh, 
king of France, 370, 462. 

Capetian (kd-pe'shdn) dynasty, 
the, 462, 463. 

Car-a-cal'la, Edict of, 204. 

Carcassonne (kar-ka-son'), 378. 

Cardinals, college of, 415, 417. 

Car-o-lin'gi-an dynasty, the, 306 
and note 2, 315, 317, 370. 

Car'thage, a Phoenician colony, 50 ; 
a rival of the Greeks in the west¬ 
ern Mediterranean, 89 ; the 
Carthaginians in Sicily, 154, 
163 ; a rival of Rome, 162 ; 
Carthaginian commercial empire 
and civilization, 162, 163 ; First 
Punic War, 163, 164 ; Second 
Punic War, 164-167 ; destroyed 
at close of the Third Punic War, 
168, 169 ; rebuilt, 169, note 1, 
209 ; becomes capital of the 
Vandal kingdom, 245, 248 ; 

again destroyed by the Arabs, 
350. 

Cartier, Jacques (kar-tya', zhak'), 

• 573 574, 

Cassius (kash'ds), 187-189. 

Castile (k&s-tel'), kingdom of, 
469. 

Castles, feudal, 387-390, 525. 

Cat'a-combs, the, at Rome, 234. 

Ca-thay'. See China. 

Cathedrals, 310, 324, 407, 505-508. 

Catherine of Aragon, 592. 

Catherine de’ Medici (da ma'de- 
che), 608. 




658 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Catholic Church. See Celtic 
Church, Greek Church, Roman 
Church. 

Cat'i-line, conspiracy of, 182. 

Caucasian (ko-ka'shan) race, the, 
15, 16. 

Celtiberians, the, 468. 

Celtic Church, the, 323-325. 

Celts (sSlts), the, an Indo-Euro¬ 
pean people, 66; in Gaul and 
Britain, 195, 239, 246 ; in Wales, 
Scotland, and Ireland, 458, 460, 
461 ; in France, 462 ; in Spain, 
468. 

Cen'sors, Roman, 151, 152. 

Central America, prehistoric cities 
of, 567. 

Cervantes (ser-van'tez), 540. 

Chaeronea (kSr-6-ne'd), battle of, 
118, 153. 

Chalcidice (kal-sid'i-ce), peninsula 
of, 116. 

Chaldea (k&l-de'd). See Baby¬ 
lonia. 

Chalons (sha-16N'), battle of, 248. 

Channel Islands, 467 and note 

2 . 

Charlemagne (shar'le-man), 306, 
note 2, 307-312, 379, 412, 509, 
588. 

Charles the Bald, 313, 314. 

Charles Martel, 306, 351, 412. 

Charles I, King of England, 619- 
626 ; II, 629-631. 

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, 
565, 587, 588, 589, 592, 600, 601, 
602. 

Charters, civic, 479. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 501, 541, 551. 

Checkers, 520. 

Chemistry, Arab, 356 ; alchemy 
and, 515. 

Cheops (ke'ops), 27. 

Chess, 390, 520. 

Children’s Crusade, the, 434, 435. 

China, beginnings of history in, 3, 
19 ; civilization of, 19, 20 ; con¬ 
quered by the Mongols, 440, 
442 ; visited by the Polos, 442, 


554 ; Portuguese trade with, 
442, 559. 

Chivalry. See Knighthood. 

Chosroes (kSs'ro-ez) II, 332. 

Christ, 197, 229, 232, 236. 

Christianity, preparation for, 226- 
229 ; rise and spread of, 229- 
232 ; organization of the early 
Christian Church, 232 ; per¬ 
secuted, 232-234 ; triumph of, in 
the Roman Empire, 234-237 ; 
the Germans converted to Arian, 
236, 237, 241, 300, 302, 304, 305, 
326 ; influence of, on ancient 
society, 237, 270 ; Celtic and 
Roman, in the British Isles, 322- 
325 ; development of, 401, 402 ; 
rise and growth of the Papacy, 
403, 404 ; monasticism, 407-411; 
spread of, over Europe, 411-413 ; 
the Papacy and the Holy Roman 
Empire, 416-423 ; the Reforma¬ 
tion, 579-600. See also Celtic 
Church, Greek Church, Prot¬ 
estants, Roman Church. 

Christmas, 522, 523. 

Church of England. See Angli¬ 
canism. 

Cibola (se'bo-la), the Seven Cities 
of, 570. 

Cicero (sis'e-ro), Marcus Tullius, 
181, 182, 184, 187, 188, 189, 277. 

Ciipon (si'mdn), Athenian states¬ 
man, 102, 103. 

Ci-pan'go. See Japan. 

Cities, Hellenistic, 127-130 ; in 
the Roman imperial age, 208- 
210 ; aspects of ancient, 252, 
253 ; revival of, during the 
later Middle Ages, 477-480 ; 
city life, 480-482 ; civic trade 
and industry, 483-490 ; Italian, 
490-494; German, 494-496; 
Flemish, 496-498. 

Citizenship, in the Greek city- 
state, 81 ; in Athens, 85, 87, 
104 ; in early Rome, 150, 151 ; 
the Italians and Roman, 155, 
177, 179, 207 ; extension of 




Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 659 


Roman, to the provincials, 187, 
204, 215 ; privileges of Roman, 
204, 206. 

City-state, the Greek, 81-83, 113, 
128 ; the Roman, 149-152, 190, 
191. 

Civilization, Oriental, 42-63 ; 
iEgean, 71, 72 ; the Graeco- 

Oriental world, J.33-135 ; Etrus¬ 
can, 138, 139 ; Carthaginian, 

163 ; the Graeco-Roman world, 
215-218 ; classical, 252-296 ; 
Byzantine, 335-337 ; Arabian, 
353-359 ; medieval, 500-528. 

Civil War, between Marius and 
Sulla, 179 ; between Pompey 
and Caesar, 184, 185 ; between 
Antony and Octavian, 189, 190. 

Claudius, Roman emperor, 197, 
213. 

Clement VII, pope, 581. 

Cleon, 272. 

Cle-o-pa'tra, 185, 189, 190. 

Clergy, secular, 406, 407 ; regular, 
407-411. 

Cler'mont, Council of, 426, 427. 

Clis'the-nes, Athenian reformer, 87. 

Clovis, king of the Franks, 303- 
305. 

Codes, legal. See Law. 

Coinage, a Lydian invention, 47 ; 
unknown to Homeric Greeks, 
74 ; beginning of, at Rome, 144 ; 
Roman imperial, 210, 211 ; de¬ 
basement of, in the Middle Ages, 
489. See also Money. 

Colbert (kol-bar'), 644, 645, 646. 

Coligny (ko-len'ye), Admiral de, 
608, 609. 

Col'line Gate, battle of the, 179. 

Colonial policy, Portuguese, 559, 
560 ; Spanish, 573. 

Colonies, Phoenician, 50 ; Greek, 
87-90, 139 ; Latin, in Italy, 155, 
156, 166, 177 ; “Roman,” 155, 
note 2 ; Portuguese, 559 and 
note 1, 560 ; Spanish, 570-573 ; 
French, 574, 645 ; English, 574, 
575. 


Columbus, Christopher, 560, 562, 
563. 

Comedy, Athenian, 264, 265, 272. 

Co-me'ni-us, 545. 

Commandments, the Ten, 52. 

Commentaries, Csesar’s, 183, 239, 
277. 

Commerce, Babylon and Nineveh 
as centers of Asiatic, 47, 48 ; 
Phoenician, with Europe, 48, 49 ; 
Phoenician imports and exports, 
49 ; TEgean, 71, 72 ; absence of, 
in Homeric Age, 73 ; Athenian, 
107, 108 ; Roman, 210, 211 ; 
Byzantine, 335, 336 ; Arabian, 
354, 355 ; influence of the cru¬ 
sades on, 436 ; medieval, 486- 
488 ; Genoese, 493 ; Venetian, 
493 ; Hanseatic, 494-496 ; Flem¬ 
ish, 497 ; Portuguese, 559 ; 
Spanish, 573 ; effect of the mari¬ 
time discoveries on, 576, 577. 

Com'mo-dus, Roman emperor, 219. 

Common law. See Law. 

Commons, House of, 457, 617, 622, 
626, 628, 633. 

Commonwealth, the, England un¬ 
der, 626-628. 

Compass, the mariner’s, 356, 514, 
555. 

Concordat of Worms, the, 420. 

Concrete, Roman use of, 283, 506. 

Congregational churches, 596, note 
1, 625, note 1. 

Conrad I, 315. 

Constance, Council of, 582, 584. 

Constantine (k5n'stan-tln) the 
Great, becomes sole Roman 
emperor, 222 ; founds Constanti-. 
nople, 222, 223 ; attitude of, 
toward Christianity, 235 ; Arch 
of, 236, 295. 

Constantinople, founding of, 88, 
222, 223 ; attacked by the 

Russians, 335 ; as the center of 
Byzantine civilization, 335-337 ; 
situation of, 337, 338 ; described, 
339-341 ; besieged by the Arabs, 
349, 350 ; captured by the 




66o Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


crusaders, 433, 434 ; Latin 

Empire of, 434 ; siege and cap¬ 
ture of, by the Ottoman Turks, 
446, 448. 

Consuls, Roman, 149. 

Co-per'ni-cus, 133, 546, 547. 

Copper, 4, 5, note 1, 73, 143, 144, 
566. 

Cor'do-va, 337, 352, 354. 

Corinth, the kingship abolished in, 
82 ; emigrants from, found 
Syracuse, 89 ; congress at, 481 
b.c., 98 ; precipitates the Pelo¬ 
ponnesian War, 109 ; panhellenic 
congress at, 337 b.c., 119 ; 

sacked and burned by the Ro¬ 
mans, 170 ; refounded, 170, note 
1, 209. 

Cor'pus Ju'ris Ci-vi'lis, 331, 385, 
511. 

Cortes (Span. pron. kor-tas'), Her¬ 
nando, 569. 

Cosmology, early Greek, 74, 75. 

Cosmopolitanism, in the Graeco- 
Oriental world, 134, 135 ; in the 
Graeco-Roman world, 215, 216. 

Costume, Greek and Roman, 257- 
259 ; medieval, 526. 

Councils, Church : Nicaea, 235, 
236, 402, 426 ; Constance, 582, 
584 ; Trent, 599. 

Counter Reformation, the Cath¬ 
olic, 597-600. 

Courts, Athenian jury, 105, 106 ; 
feudal, 383 ; royal, in the Middle 
Ages, 452, 454, 464. 

Covenanters, the; 621, 622. 

Craft guild, the, 483-485. 

Cranmer, Thomas, 592, 594. 

Cras'sus, 183, 184, 194, 213. 

Creation legend, Babylonian, 56. 

Crecy (kra-se'), battle of, 466. 

Crete, 1, 5, 10, 28, 70-72. 

Croesus (kre's-us), Lydian king, 37, 
38, 47, 79, 93. 

Crusades, the, causes of, 424-426 ; 
First Crusade, 426-429 ; cru¬ 
saders’ states in Syria, 429, 430*; 
Second and Third, 431-433 ; 


Fourth Crusade, 433, 434 ; Chil¬ 
dren’s Crusade, 434, 435 ; end 
of, 435 ; results of, 435-437. 

Cumae (ku'me), 89, 139, 153. 

Cu-nax'a, battle of, 121. 

Cu-ne'i-form writing, 10 and note 
1, 11, 42, 62. 

Cuzco, 568, 569. 

Cymric (kim'rik), the Welsh lan¬ 
guage, 458. 

Cyrene (si-re'ne), 79, 90, 124, 163. 

Cy'rus the Great, 37, 38, 79, 93, 94 ; 
the Younger, 120, 121. 

Dacia (da'shi-a), 200, 219, 241. 

Da Gama, Vasco, 558, 564. 

Damascus, 230, 337, 349, 352, 354. 

Dane'geld, the, 372. 

Dane'law, the, 371. 

Danes, converted to Christianity, 
365 ; in England, 371, 372, 501. 

Dante Alighieri (dan'ta a-le- 
gya're), 531, 542. 

Da-ri'us I, the Great, 38-40, 94, 
95 ; III, 122, 124. 

David, Hebrew king, 31. 

De-cam'er-on, the, 532. 

De'li-an League, the, formation 
and constitution of, 101, 102, 
104 ; becomes subject to Athens, 
102, 113. 

De'los, island of, 102. 

Delphi (dSl'fl), 78. 

Delphic amphictyony, 91. 

Delphic oracle, described, 78, 79 ; 
predictions of, 79, 109, 274 ; 
abolished, 236, 237. 

Delta of the Nile, 23, 90. 

Demarcation, papal line of, 564, 
565. 

De-me'ter, attributes of, 76 ; the 
Eleusinian mysteries in honor of, 
227. 

Democracy, rise of, at Athens, 86, 
87 ; characteristics of Athenian, 
104-106. 

Demons, Babylonia^ belief in, 52. 

De-mos'the-nes, Athenian orator 
and statesman, 117, 118, 182. 





Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 661 


Denmark, 246, 314, 315, 360, 365, 
366, 611. 

Despots, Italian, 491. 

Devil, the, 347, 519, 583. 

Diaz (de'ath), Bartholomew, 558. 

Dictatus papce, the, 419 and note 1. 

Dioceses of the Roman Empire, 
221 . 

Diocletian (di-6-kle'shan), Roman 
emperor, 220-222, 233, 234. 

Dionysus (dl-o-ni'sus), attributes 
of, 76 ; theater of, 264, 290 ; 
festivals of, 265. 

Dissenters, the, 630 and note 1, 632. 

Divination, Babylonian, 53 ; 
Etruscan, 138 ; Roman, 147, 
148 ; medieval, 517. 

Divine Comedy , the, 531. 

Divine right of kings, the, 616, 617, 
618, 619, 631. 

Dome, the, as an architectural 
feature, 283, 336, 506, 535. 

Domesday (domz'da) Book, 451. 

Domestication of animals, 6, 7 ; 
of plants, 8. 

Do-min'i-cans, order of the, 414, 
415. 

Domitian (do-mish'I-an), Roman 
emperor, 199, 278. 

“ Donation of Pepin,” the, 306, 307. 

“ Do-nothing kings,” the, 305, 306. 

Don Quixote (Span. pron. don 
ke-ho'ta), 540. 

Doric order of architecture, 279, 
280. 

Dra'co, laws of, 86. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 574, 606; 607. 

Drama, Athenian, 264, 265 ; Ro¬ 
man, 265 ; medieval, 523, 524 ; 
Shakespearian, 542. 

Dramatists, Athenian, 271, 272. 

Duel, the judicial, 384, 385. 

Dwellings of the Greeks and 
Romans, 145, 146, 259, 260; the 
castle, 387-390; the manor 
house, 524, 525. 

East Goths. See Ostrogoths. 

East Mark, 316. See also Austria. 


Ec-bat'a-na, 37. 

Economic conditions, in the Orient, 
44-47 ; in Homeric Greece, 73, 
74 ; in Athens, at the time of 
Solon, 86 ; in Athens, during the 
Age of Pericles, 106-108 ; during 
the Hellenistic Age, 133, 134 ; in 
early Rome, 143, 144 ; under the 
Early Empire, 210-214 ; under 
the Later Empire, 224, 225 ; 
during the feudal period, 395- 
399 ; during the later Middle 
Ages, 548-551. 

E-des'sa, principality of, 429, 431. 

Edicts : Caracalla, 204 ; Galerius, 
234, 235 ; Milan, 235 ; Nantes, 
609, 610, 645, 646 ; Restitution, 
612, 613. 

Education, Oriental, 62, 63 ; Spar¬ 
tan, 84 ; Greek, 253-255 ; Ro¬ 
man, 255, 256 ; in the early 
Middle Ages, 309, 310 ; Byzan¬ 
tine, 337 ; Arab, 356 ; medieval 
universities, 509-513 ; scholas¬ 
ticism, 513, 514 ; Renaissance, 
543-545 ; Jesuit, 598. 

Edward the Confessor, king of 
England, 372, 374. 

Edward I, king of England, “ Model 
Parliament” of, 457 ; conquest 
of Wales and Scotland by, 458, 
460, 461 ; II, 461 ; III, 465, 
466, 467 ; VI, 594. 

Egbert, king of Wessex, 320, 371. 

Egypt, the “gift of the Nile,” 23 ; 
an early center of civilization, 
24 ; inhabitants of, 25 ; king¬ 
dom of, founded by Menes, 25, 
26 ; the pyramid kings, 26, 27 ; 
invaded by the Hyksos, 27 ; 
becomes an imperial power, 28, 
29 ; conquered by Persia, 29, 
38, 94 ; visited by Greeks, 90 ; 
conquered by Alexander the 
Great, 123 ; under the Ptole¬ 
mies, 127 ; becomes a Roman de¬ 
pendency, 185, 190 ; conquered 
by the Arabs, 349 ; a center of 
Moslem power, 352. 




662 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Elder Edda, the, 363. 

El Dorado (61 do-ra'do), 569, 570. 

Elections, Athenian, 104 ; Roman, 
155. 

El-eu-sin'i-an mysteries, 78, 226, 
227, 236, 237, 288. 

Elizabeth, queen of England, 575, 
594, 604-606, 617, 618. 

Emperor worship, Roman, 196, 
197, 216. 

Empire, Egyptian, 27, 28 ; Assyr¬ 
ian, 34-36 ; Persian, 37-40 ; 
Athenian, 104 ; Spartan, 111 ; 
Macedonian, 118, 125, 127 ; 

Carthaginian, 162, 163 ; early 
Roman, 193-218 ; later Roman, 
219-226 ; New Persian, 219, 
332, 333, 376 ; Roman, in the 
West, 223, 249, 312 ; Roman, 
in the East, 223, 328-341, 349, 
350, 426, 434, 448 ; Charle¬ 
magne’s, 311-314 ; Holy Ro¬ 
man, 311, 312, 317-319, 416- 
423, 613 ; of Otto the Great, 
317-319 ; Arabian, 352, 353 ; 
Portuguese colonial, 559, 560 ; 
Spanish colonial, 570-573. 

Engineering, Oriental, 61, 62 ; dis¬ 
coveries of Archimedes, 131. 

England, the name, 246 ; con¬ 
quered by the Danes, 371, 372 ; 
Norman Conquest of, 374, 376 ; 
under William the Conqueror, 
450, 451 ; under Henry II, 451- 
454 ; under Richard I, John, and 
Henry III, 454-456 ; under Ed¬ 
ward I, 457-462 ; the Hundred 
Years’ War between France and, 
465-467 ; the War of the Roses, 
467, 468 ; the Reformation in, 
591-594 ; under Elizabeth, 604- 
607 ; under the Stuarts, 617- 
632 ; under William III and 
Anne, 633, 634. See also Brit¬ 
ain. 

English, the, racial elements in, 
319, 320, 376. 

E-pam-i-non'das, Theban general 
and statesman, 112, 113, 115. 


Ephesus (ef'e-sws), 122, 209. 

Eph'ors, the Spartan, 83, 84. 

Epic poetry, Babylonian, 56, 57 ; 
Greek, 73, 90, 270, 271; Roman, 
277; medieval French, 502, 503; 
the Nibelungenlied, 504. 

Ep-i-cu-re'an-ism, philosophy of, 
275, 276. 

Ep-i-cu'rus, 275. 

E-ras'mus, Des-i-de'ri-us, 538, 539, 
551, 582, 597. 

Er-a-tos'the-nes, 133. 

Erechtheum (6r-ek-the'wm), the, 
291. 

Eric the Red, 367, 368. 

Ericsson, Leif (er'ik-sim, lif), 368. 

Estates-General, the French, 465, 
580, 638. 

Eth'el-bert, king of Kent, 322, 323. 

E-tru'ri-a, a district of central 
Italy, 136, 138, 182. 

E-trus'cans, the, 138, 139, 143, 148, 
153. 

Euclid (u'klid), Greek geometri¬ 
cian, 131. 

Eugene (u-zh6n'), Prince, 641, 642. 

Euphrates (u-fra'tez) River, 22, 
194, 200. 

Eu-rip'i-des, Athenian dramatist, 
271. 

Europe, physical features of, 65 ; 
grand divisions of, 65, 66. 

Evans, Sir Arthur, excavations by, 
70, 71. 

Evil eye, the, 518. 

Excavations : Babylon, 36 ; Nip¬ 
pur,-64 ; Troy, Mycenae, Tiryns, 
and Gnossus, 68-71 ; Pompeii 
and Herculaneum, 200 ; the 
Roman Forum, 295. 

Excommunication, 405. 

Exile, the Hebrew, 36, 37, 38. 

Exploration, Phoenician, 49 ; 
Greek, 125, 131, 132, 134 ; 

Viking, 366-368 ; of Asia, during 
the later Middle Ages, 552-555 ; 
aids to ocean navigation, 555, 
556 ; of the African coast, by 
the Portuguese, 556, 558 ; of 




Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 663 


America by the Spaniards, 563, 
564, 569, 570 ; Magellan’s cir¬ 
cumnavigation of the globe, 565, 
566 ; French and English, in 
America, 573, 574. 

Fa'bi-us Max'i-mus, Quin'tus, dic¬ 
tatorship of, 166. 

Fairies in European folklore, 517, 
518. 

Fairs in the Middle Ages, 483, 486. 

Falconry, 390, 391. 

“Fall” of Rome, the, 224, 241, 249. 

Family, the, Roman, 144,145, 214 ; 
early German, 240. 

Federations: Peloponnesian 

League, 83, 102, 109, 113 ; Del¬ 
phic Amphictyony, 91 ; Delian 
League, 101, 102, 104, 113 ; 
Latin League, 140, 153 ; Swiss 
Confederation, 472, 473, 613 ; 
Hanseatic League, 494-496 ; the 
United Netherlands, 604, 613. 

Ferdinand, king of Aragdn, 469, 
470 ; I, Holy Roman Emperor, 
601 ; II, 611. 

Festivals, Greek athletic, 79-81 ; 
Athenian civic, 264, 265 ; in the 
Middle Ages, 521, 522. 

Feudalism, rise of, 379, 380 ; non- 
European parallels to, 380 ; as 
a form of local government, 380- 
383 ; as a form of local justice, 
383-385 ; feudal warfare, 385- 
387 ; feudal castles, 387-390 ; 
knighthood and chivalry, 390- 
393 ; feudal manors, 393-398 ; 
serfdom, 398, 399 ) decline of, 
399, 400 ; influence of the cru¬ 
sades on, 436 ; the national 
states and, 399, 449 ; William 
the Conqueror’s policy toward, 
450, 451 ; the medieval cities 
and, 479. 

Finland, geography of, 66 ; the 
Swedes in, 368. 

Finns, the, 368, 413, 438. 

Flanders, county of, 496-498, 639. 

Fla'vi-an Caesars, the, 199, 200. 


Flemings, the, 496. 

Florence, in the Middle Ages, 492, 
493 ; during the Renaissance, 
529, 530. 

Florida, discovery of, 569. 

Folk tales, European, 517. 

Fo'rum, the Roman, 141, 146, 160, 
176, 177, 190, 262, 295, 296. 

France, origin of the name, 303, 
note 3 ; the Normans in, 370 ; 
Capetian dynasty established 
in, 370, 462 ; physical and racial, 
462 ; territorial growth of, 463, 
464, 468 ; Hundred Years’ War 
between England and, 465-467 ; 
the Huguenot wars in, 608, 609 ; 
under Henry IV, 609, 610 ; 
under Louis XIII and Louis 
XIV, 635-647. 

Franche-Comte, 639. 

Francis I, king of France, 573. 

Fran-cis'cans, order of, 413-415. 

Franks, the, in northern Gaul, 245, 
246, 303 ; conquests of, under 
Clovis, 303 ; converted to Cath¬ 
olic Christianity, 304, 305 ; 

expansion of, under the ear¬ 
lier Merovingians, 305 ; under 
Charles Martel and Pepin the 
Short, 305-307 ; under Charle¬ 
magne, 307-312. 

Frederick I, Barbarossa, Holy 
Roman Emperor, 421, 422, 432, 
471 ; II, 422 ; the Wise, elector 
of Saxony, 586. 

Friars, orders of, 413-415. 

Froissart (frwa-sar'), 541. 

Future life, ideas of the, Egyptian, 
55 ; Babylonian and Hebrew, 
55, 56 ; early Greek and Roman, 
77, 78, 148 ; as set forth in the 
Eleusinian mysteries, 227 ; in 

i Mithraism and other Oriental 
religions, 228, 229 ; in early 

i Christianity, 229 ; in Islam, 347. 

Gaelic (gal'ik), the Celtic speech of 
Scotland, 460. 

Gai'se-ric, Vandal king, 249. 






664 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Ga'len, 131. 

Ga-le'ri-us, Roman emperor, 235. 

Galileo (gal-I-le'o), 546, 547. 

Gallo-Romans, the, 462, 500. 

Games, Olympian, 79-81 ; Cir- 
censian, 266-268 ; medieval, 
520, 521. 

Gaul (gol), Greeks in, 89 ; Cisal¬ 
pine, 136, 164, 178, 183 ; Trans¬ 
alpine, 178, 183, 184 ; Visigoths 
and Burgundians, in, 244, 245 ; 
Franks in, 245, 246, 303 ; Arabs 
in, 351. 

Gauls, their inroads in Greece and 
Asia Minor, 129 ; invade Italy, 
153 ; conquered by Rome, 164, 
183, 184 ; Romanized, 184, 197, 
462. 

Gen'tiles, the, 230. 

Geographical conditions, influence 
of, on early civilization of Nearer 
Asia, 21 ; on the Greeks, 67, 68 ; 
on the Italian peoples, 137. 

Geography, Babylonian knowledge 
of, 61 ; Homeric, 74, 75 ; prog¬ 
ress of, during the Hellenistic 
Age, 131-133 ; Arab knowledge 
of, 355 ; medieval, 553 ; prog¬ 
ress of, in the fifteenth and six¬ 
teenth centuries, 557, 558, 563- 
566, 569, 570, 573, 574. 

Geometry, 60, 131. 

George I, king of England, 634. 

Germans, the, an Indo-European 
people, 66 ; invade Gaul and 
Italy, 178 ; Roman campaigns 
against, 183, 195, 201 ; Dacia 
abandoned to, 219 ; converted 
to Christianity in its Arian form, 
236, 237, 241, 300, 302, 326, 411 ; 
as described by Caesar and Taci¬ 
tus, 239, 240 ; their progress 
in civilization before the inva¬ 
sions, 240 ; reasons for their 
migrations, 240, 241 ; their 

invasions and settlements before 
476 a.d., 241-249 ; influence of, 
on ancient society, 250, 251 ; 
the Ostrogoths and Lombards in 


Italy, 298-302 ; rise of the 
Franks, 303 ; the Anglo-Saxons 
in Britain, 319-322 ; fusion of, 
with Romans, 325, 326 ; mission¬ 
ary labors of St. Boniface among, 
412 ; the Slavs and the, 473, 474. 

Germany, physical features of, 
239 ; under Saxon kings, 315- 
317 ; consequences to, of the 
restoration of the Roman Em¬ 
pire by Otto the Great, 318, 319, 
423 ; eastward expansion of, in 
the Middle Ages, 473-475 ; 
the Reformation in, 585-590 ; 
the Thirty Years’ War, 610-614. 

Ghent (g6nt), 497. 

Giants in European folklore, 518. 

Gi-bral'tar, strait of, 49,. 133, 162, 
351 ; rock of, 642, 643. 

Gladiatorial combats, 214, 237, 
267, 268. 

Globular theory, the, 560. 

“Glorious Revolution,” the, 631, 
632. 

Gnossus (nos'us), excavations at, 
70, 71. 

Godfrey of Bouillon (boo-yoN'), 
429. 

Gods and goddesses, Oriental, 52- 
54 ; Greek, 75-77 ; early Ro¬ 
man, 147 ; Mithra, 229 ; Scan¬ 
dinavian, 363-365. 

Golden Horde, the, 443. 

“Good Emperors,” the, 200, 201. 

Good Hope, cape of, 49, 488, 558. 

Gothic architecture, 507-509. 

Goths. See Ostrogoths, Visigoths. 

Government, Oriental, 42, 43 ; 
early Greek, 82, 83 ; Spartan, 
83, 84 ; Athenian, 87, 104- 
106 ; Roman, 149-152 ; of the 
Early Empire, 194 ; of the Later 
Empire, 221, 222 ; feudal, 380- 
383 ; rise of national states, 449, 
450. 

Gracchi (grak'i), the, 174, 177, 178, 
190, 191. 

Gracchus, Gaius, 176, 177 ; Ti¬ 
berius, 175, 176. 




Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 665 


Grammar, a branch of Greek edu¬ 
cation, 255. 

Gra-na'da, 357, 469. 

Gra-ni'cus River, battle of the, 122. 

Gratian, 511. 

Great Britain, 458, 634. See also 
British Isles. 

Great Charter. See Magna Carta. 

Great Council, the, in Norman 
England, 456. 

“ Great Schism/’ the, 581, 582. 

Greece, physical features of, 66, 67. 

Greek Church, the, 402, 412. 

“Greek Empire,” the, 328. 

“Greek fire,” 349, 350. 

Greeks, the, influence of geograph¬ 
ical conditions on, 67, 68 ; their 
prehistoric conquests and mi¬ 
grations, 72, 73 ; religion and 
religious institutions of, 75-81 ; 
the Greek city-state, 81-83 ; 
colonies of, 87-90 ; bonds of 
union between, 90, 91 ; the 
Persian wars, 93-100 ; the age 
of the city-states, 100-113 ; 
became subject to Macedonia, 
115-120 ; their colonies in Italy, 
139 ; become subject to Rome, 
170, 171 ; secure independence 
in the nineteenth century, 171, 
note 1 ; partially Slavonicized, 
334 ; conquered by the Ottoman 
Turks, 446. 

Greenland,,colonized by the North¬ 
men, 367, 368. 

Gregorian Calendar,the, 186, note 2. 

Gregory I, the Great, pope, 322, 
403 ; VII, 419, 420, 580. 

Grotius (gro'shi-ws), Hugo, 614. 

Guilds, Roman, 212 ; medieval, 
483-485. 

Guiscard (ges-kar'), Robert, 377 ; 
Roger, 377. 

Gunpowder, discovery of, 515. 

Gustavus Adolphus, 612, 614. 

Gutenberg (goo'ten-bSrK), 534. 

Gymnastics, Greek and Roman, 
254, 255, 261, 263. See also 
Athletics. 


Habeas Corpus Act, the, 630. 

Hades (ha'dez), Greek underworld 
of the dead, 75, 77, 78. 

Ha'dri-an, Roman emperor, 200, 
201, 288 ; tomb of, 203, 294 ; 
wall of, in Britain, 206, 211, 246. 

Hallow Eve, 522. 

Hamburg (Ger. pron. ham'boorK), 
495, 496, 476. 

Hammurabi (ham-bo-ra'be), king 
of Babylonia, 25, 43 ; his code 
of laws, 25, 44, 50-52. 

Hampden, John, 620, 622, 624. 

Han'ni-bal, 164-167. 

Hanno, exploring voyage of, 49. 

Hanoverian dynasty, the, 634 and 
note 1. 

Han-se-at'ic League, the, 496-498. 

Hapsburg (Ger. pron. haps'boorK) 
dynasty, the, 422 and note 1, 
423, 471, 589, 601, 611, 612, 613, 
641, 642. 

Harold, king of England, 372, 374. 

Har'pa-lus, 134. 

Harun-al-Rashid (ha-roon'-ar-ra- 
shed'), 352. 

Harvey, 547. 

Has'dru-bal, brother of Hannibal, 
167. 

Hastings, battle of, 374. 

Hebrews, the, settlement of, in 
Canaan, 29, 30 ; ruled by the 
Judges, 30 ; under Saul, David, 
and Solomon, 31, 32 ; secession 
of the Ten Tribes, 32, 33 ; king¬ 
dom of Israel conquered by 
Assyria, 33 ; kingdom of Judea 
conquered by Babylonia, 33, 36, 
37 ; the Babylonian captivity, 
36, 38. See also Jews. 

Hegira (he-ji'rd), the, 345 and note 

2 . 

Hel, the Norse underworld, 364, 
365. 

Hel'las, defined, 90. 

Hel-le'nes, 90. See also Greeks. 

Hel-le-nis'tic Age, the, 130-133. 

Hellenization of the East, 126—128, 
134, 135 ; of Rome, 174. 



666 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Hel'les-pont, 94, 97, 98, 111, 119, 
122, 338. 

He'lots, the, 83. 

Henry II, king of England, 451, 
452, 454 ; III, 456 ; VII, 468, 
573, 605, 617 ; VIII, 591-594, 
605, 606, 617. 

Henry IV, king of France, 609, 610. 

Henry I, king of Germany, 315, 
316, 412 ; III, 417 ; IV, 419, 
420, 580. 

Henry, Prince, the Navigator, 556, 
557, 562. 

Her-a-cli'us, Roman emperor in the 
East, 321, 322. 

Her-cu-la'ne-um, destruction of, 
199. 

Heresies, rise of, 235, 236, 402 ; 
punishment of, in the Middle 
Ages, 583 ; the Albigenses, 414, 
583 ; the Waldenses, 583, 584 ; 
the Lollards, 584, 585 ; the 
Hussites, 585. 

Hermits, early Christian, 407, 408. 

Her'od, king of Judea, 197, note 1. 

He-rod'o-tus, Greek traveler and 
historian, 98, 272. 

Hez-e-ki'ah, Hebrew king, 35. 

Hi-er-o-glyph'ics, Egyptian, 10 and 
note 3, 11, 42, 62. 

Highlands of Scotland, 197, 460. 

Hil'de-brand. See Gregory VII. 

Hiram, king of Tyre, 32. 

Historians, Greek, 272 ; Roman, 
277, 278. 

History, defined, 1 ; sources of, 1, 
2 ; beginnings of, in different 
parts of the world, 2, 3. 

Hit'tites, the, 28, 138. 

Hohenstaufen (ho'6n-stou-f6n) dy¬ 
nasty, the, 421 and note 1. 

Hohenzollern (ho'en-tsol-ern) dy¬ 
nasty, the, 315 and note 2, 642. 

Holidays, Roman, 213, 268 ; in 
the Middle Ages, 396, 398, 521, 
522. 

Holland, 305, 314, 601-604, 639, 
641. 

Holy Land, the, 424, 425. 


Holy Roman Empire. See Em¬ 
pire. 

Homage, ceremony of, 382. 

Homer, 73. 

Homeric Age, the, 72-75. 

Homeric poems, as sources of Greek 
mythology and religion, 68, 75- 
78 ; their origin and subject 
matter, 73, 270, 271 ; as a uni¬ 
fying influence, 90 ; studied by 
Alexander the Great, 119 ; sub¬ 
jects of school study, 255. 

Hon-o'ri-us, Roman emperor in the 
West, 243, 244. 

Horace, Roman poet, 256, 269, 278. 

Hos'pi-tal-ers, order of the, 430, 
435. 

Huguenots (hu'ge-nots), the, 602 
and note 1. 

Huguenot wars, the, 608-610. 

Humanism, 532, 533, 539, 540, 543. 

Hundred Years’ War, the, 465-467. 

Hungarians. See Magyars. 

Hungary, 247, 316, 443, 471. 

Huns, enter Europe and subdue the 
Ostrogoths, 241, 242, 247 ; in¬ 
roads of, under Attila, 247, 248 ; 
break-up of power, 248. 

Huss (hits), John, 585. 

Hyksos (hik'sos), the, 27. 

Iberians, the, 468. 

Iceland, as a literary center, 362 ; 
Christianity introduced into, 
366 ; colonized by the North¬ 
men, 367. 

Im-pe-ra'tor , the title, 186 and note 
1 , 222 . 

Incas, the, 568, 569. 

In-cu-nab'io-la, 534. 

Independents, the, 625, 626. 

“ Index of Prohibited Books,” the, 
599, 600. 

India, beginnings of history in, 3 ; 
settlement of, by Indo-Euro¬ 
peans, 20 ; relations of, to the 
West, 21 ; Persian conquest of 
the Punjab, 38, 39 ; Alexander 
the Great in, 125 ; rediscovery 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 667 


of sea route to, 125, 134 ; Arab 
conquests in, 349 ; the Moguls 
in, 443 ; Portuguese possessions 
in, 559, 560. 

Indians, American, 5, note 1, 8, 9, 
566-569, 571. 

Indo-China, 19. 

Indo-Europeans, the, relation of, to 
the Semites, 16 ; principal divi¬ 
sions of, 16, 17 ; settlement of 
India by, 20 ; in Europe, 139, 
140. 

Indulgences, 586, 587. 

Industry, in the Oriental world, 45 ; 
in the Homeric Age, 73 ; in 
ancient Athens, 106 ; in im¬ 
perial Rome, 212 ; Byzantine, 
336 ; Arab, 354 ; in medieval 
cities, 483-485. 

Infanticide,. in the ancient world, 
84, 214; 237, 253. 

Innocent III, pope, 421, 422, 433, 
435. 

Inquisition, the, 600, 602. 

Institutes of the Christian Religion , 
Calvin’s, 591, 617. 

Instrument of Government, the, 
628. 

Interdict, the, 405, 406. 

International law, rise of, 614. 

In-ter-reg'num, the, 422. 

Investiture, conflict over, 418- 
420. 

I-o'ni-a, settled by the Greeks, 67 ; 
Homeric poems probably com¬ 
posed in, 73 ; conquered by 
Lydia and Persia, 93, 94 ;• the 
Ionian Revolt, 94, 95 ; freed by 
Alexander the Great, 122. 

Ionic order of architecture, 279, 
280. 

Iran (e-ran'), plateau of, 21, 37, 
124. 

Ireland, the Scots of, 246 ; Chris¬ 
tianity introduced into, 323, 
325 ; the Northmen in, 366 ; 
conquered by England, 461, 462, 
605, 627, 628. 

Ir-ne'ri-us, 510. 


Iron, 5, 73, 390, 566. 

Isabella of Castile, 460, 470, 563, 
588. 

Islam (is'lam), principles and prac¬ 
tices of, 346-348 ; expansion of, 
348-351. 

Israel, kingdom of, 33, 34. 

Is'ra-el-ites. See Hebrews. 

Issus, battle of, 122, 123. 

Italians, the, influence of geograph¬ 
ical conditions on, 137 ; prin¬ 
cipal divisions of, 140 ; how 
ruled by Rome, 155, 171, 177 ; 
Roman citizenship conferred on, 
178, 179. 

Italy, physical features of, 136, 
137 ; Etruscan and Greek settle¬ 
ments in, 137-139 ; Roman con¬ 
quest of central and southern, 
153, 154 ; under Roman rule, 
155-158 ; northern, conquered 
by Rome, 164 ; the Ostrogoths 
in, 298-300 ; the Lombards in, 
300, 302 ; Frankish rule over, 
306, 307, 309 ; restoration of 
the Roman Empire by Otto the 
Great and its consequences to, 
317, 318, 423 ; Norman con¬ 
quest of southern, 377, 378 ; in 
the Renaissance, 529-533, 535- 
538. 

Ivan (e-van') III, the Great, tsar, 
445. 

Jacquerie (zhak-re'), the, 550 and 
note 1. 

James I, king of England, 461, 
note 1, 618, 619, 633 ; II, 631. 

Jan-i-za'ries, the, 446, 448. 

Japan, 19. 

Je-ho'vah, 31, 35, 54, 55. 

Jenghiz Khan (j&n'giz Kan'), Mon¬ 
gol conqueror, 439, 440. 

Jerusalem, becomes capital of the 
Hebrew state, 31 ; besieged by 
Sennacherib, 35 ; captured by 
Nebuchadnezzar, 36 ; captured 
and destroyed by the Romans, 
199 and note 1 ; early Chris- 





668 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


tians in, 229 ; during the cru¬ 
sades, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 
433, 435. 

Jesuits, the, 597-599. 

Jesus, birth of, 197 and note 1; cru¬ 
cifixion of, 229 and note 2. 

Jews, the, revolts of, against Rome, 
199 and note 1 ; rise of Chris¬ 
tianity among, 229, 230 ; con¬ 
dition of, in the Middle Ages, 
490. 

Joan of Arc, 467. 

John, king of England, 422, 454, 
456. 

John XII, pope, 317. 

Joust, the, 392. 

Judah, 33. 

Ju-de'a, 33, 197 and note 1. 

Judges, period of the, in Hebrew 
history, 30. 

Ju-gur'tha, 178. 

Jugurthine War, the, 178. 

Julian Caesars, the, 197. 

Ju'pi-ter, supreme deity of Rome, 
142, 147, 160, 190, 294. 

Jury, trial and accusation by, 452, 
454. 

Jury courts, Athenian, 105, 106. 

Jus-tin'i-an, Roman emperor in the 
East, 300 ; reign of, 329-332. 

“ Just price,” medieval idea of the, 
486. 

Jutes, the, 246. 

Kaaba (ka'a-ba), the, 343, 344, 345. 

Kaiser, the title, 197, note 2. 

Kent, 320, 322, 323. 

Kepler, 546, 547^ 

Khartum (kar-toom'), 22. 

Kiev (ke'y&f), 369, 443. 

Knighthood and chivalry, 390-393. 

Koran (ko-ran'), the, 346, 347, 348. 

Koreish (ko-rish/), 343, 344. 

Kublai Khan (koo'bli Kan'), 442, 
654. 

Laborers, statutes of, 549. 

Ladrone (la-dro'na) Islands, the, 
565, note 1. 


Lan'cas-ter, House of, 467, 468. 

Land, feudal tenure of, 380-383, 
393. 

Language, Greek, 90, 134 ; Latin, 

207, 208, 216, 217, 322 ; English, 

208, 322, 376, 501, 502 ; Cymric, 
458 ; Gaelic, 460 ; Spanish, 469 ; 
French, 462, 500 ; Icelandic, 501 
and note 2 ; Italian, 531 ; Ger¬ 
man, 588. 

Lapps, the, 438. 

Latin League, the, 140, 153. 

Latin War, the, 153. 

Latium (la'shi-dm), a district of 
central Italy, 136, 140 ; expan¬ 
sion of Roman dominion over, 
153, 207. 

Laud, Archbishop, 620, 621, 622. 

Law, code of Hammurabi, 25, 44, 
50-52 ; Mosaic code, 52 ; Dra¬ 
conian code, 86 ; Twelve Tables, 
150, 151, 206 ; development of 
Roman, under the empire, 206, 
207, 215, 216 ; Common law of 
England, 322, 331, 454 ; “Laws 
of the Barbarians,” 326 ; the 
Corpus Juris Civilis, 331, 385, 
511 ; feudal, 383-385 ; canon, 
404, 511 ; the rise of interna¬ 
tional law, 614. 

“Laws of the Barbarians,” the, 
326. 

Legion, the Roman, 158, 159. 

Leo I, the Great, pope, 249, 403 ; 
III, 311. 

Le<5n (la-on'), kingdom of, 469. 

Leon, Ponce de, 569. 

Leonardo da Vinci (la-o-nar'd5 da 
ven'che), 537. 

Le-on'i-das, Spartan king, 98. 

Lep'i-dus, 188, 189. 

Leuc'tra, battle of, 112. 

Libraries, in the ancient Orient, 
63 ; the Alexandrian Library, 
130 ; Arab, 356 ; the Vatican 
Library, 533. 

Li-cin'i-us, Roman emperor, 222, 
235. 

Lima (le'ma), 569. 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 669 


Lisbon, 560, 576. 

Literature, Oriental, 56-68 ; Greek, 
90, 270-273 ; Hellenistic, 130 ; 
Roman, 276-278 ; Byzantine, 
337 ; Arabic, 358 ; medieval, 
502-505 ; Renaissance, 539-543. 
See also Humanism. 

Lith-u-a'ni-ans, converted to Chris¬ 
tianity, 413. 

Liv'y, Roman historian, 278. 

Lollards, the, 584, 585. 

Lombards, the, form a kingdom in 
Italy, 300, 302, 332, 351 ; de¬ 
feated and conquered by the 
Franks, 306, 308, 309 ; become 
Catholic Christians, 411. 

Lombardy, 302. 

London, 209, 376, 410, 576. 

Long bow, the, 386. 

Long Parliament, the, 622, 628. 

Long Walls of Athens, the, 108, 
110, 111, 288. 

Lords, House of, 457, 617, 626. 

Lorraine (lo-ran^), 314 and note 1, 
315, note 1, 316, 613, 639, 640. 

Lothair (lo-thar'), 313, 314. 

Louis the German, 313, 314 ; the 
Pious, 312. 

Louis IX, king of France, 464 ; 
XIII, 610, 635 ; XIV, 635-647 ; 
XV, 644,_note 1. 

Louvois (loo-vya'), 638. 

Louvre (166'vr’), palace of the, 539, 
646. 

Loyola (lo-yo'la), St. Ignatius, 597, 
598. 

Lubeck (lu'bek), 495, 496, 576. 

Lu'si-ads, the, 558. 

Luther, Martin, 585-588. 

Lutheranism, legal recognition of, 
in Germany, 589, 590 ; spreads 
to Scandinavia, 590 ; its doc¬ 
trines and organization, 596. 

Liitzen (liit'sen), battle of, 612. 

Ly-ce'um, the, at Athens, 261, 288. 

Ly-cur'gus, legendary Spartan law¬ 
giver, 85, note 2. 

Lyd'i-a, conquered by Persia, 37, 
38, 93, 94. 


Lyric poetry, Greek, 271 ; medie¬ 
val, 502. 

Mac-e-do'ni-a, conquered by Per¬ 
sia, 94 ; inhabitants of, 115 ; 
under Philip II, 115-119 ; under 
Alexander the Great, 119, 120 ; 
after Alexander’s death, 127 ; 
conquered by Rome, 169, 170. 

Machiavelli (ma-kya-vel'le), 540. 

Madeira (ma-de'rd) Islands, the, 
557. 

Ma-gel'lan, Fer'di-nand, 565, 566. 

Magic, Babylonian, 52, 53 ; in the 
Middle Ages, 518-520. 

Magistrates: Spartan ephors, 83, 
84 ; Athenian Ten Generals, 
105 ; Roman, 151, 152, 155 ; 
of a medieval city, 482. 

Mag'na Car'ta, winning of, 454 ; 
provisions of, 455, 620, 630. 

Mag'na Grse'ci-a, the name, 136 ; 
conquered by Rome, 153, 154, 
174. 

Magyars (mod'ydrs), the, inroads 
of, 314 ; wars of Henry the 
Fowler and Otto the Great with, 
315, 316 ; their settlement in 
Europe, 316 and note 1 ; con¬ 
verted to Christianity, 413. 

Mankind, races of, 15, 16. 

Manor, the medieval, 393-398. 

Manor houses, 524, 525. 

Man-ti-ne'a, battle of, 113. 

Manuscripts, 1, 2, 256, 533. 

Maps, medieval, 553. 

Mar'a-thon, battle of, 95, 96. 

Mar-do'ni-us, 95, 99. 

Marduk (mar'dook), Babylonian 
deity, 56. 

Mar-e-o'tis, Lake, 128. 

Margraves, 309. 

Ma'ri-us, Gai'us, 178, 179, 181, 
182, 191. 

Markets in the Middle Ages, 485, 
486. 

Marlborough, Duke of, 641. 

Marriage among the Greeks and 
Romans, 256, 257. 



670 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Mars, Roman war god, 142, 147. 

Marseilles (mar-salz'). See Mas- 
silia. 

Martyrs, Christian, 234. 

Mary (wife of William III), 631. 

Mary Stuart, queen of Scots, 605, 
606, 618, note 1. 

Mary Tudor, queen of England, 
594. 

Mas-sil'i-a, 89, 131, 209. 

Mathematics, Greek, 131 ; Arab, 
356. 

Matilda/Countess, 420. 

Max-en'ti-us, 295. 

Max-im'i-an, Roman emperor, 221. 

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Em¬ 
peror, 589. 

Mayas (ma'yas), the, 567. 

May Day, 522. 

“ Mayors of the palace,” Frankish, 
305, 306. 

Mazarin (ma-za-raN'), Cardinal, 
635, 636, 639. 

Mecca, 309, 343, 345. 

Me'di-a, rise of, 36 ; union of, with 
Persia, 37. 

Medicine, Oriental, 62 ; Greek, 
131 ; Arab, 356. 

Medina (ma-de'na), 345. 

Memphis (mgm'fis), 25, 123. 

Menes (me'nez), 25, 26. 

Merchant guild, the, 483. 

Mer-o-vin'gi-an dynasty, the, 305 
and note 1. 

Mer'sen, Treaty of, 313. 

'Mesopotamia (mes-o-po-ta'mi-d), 
22, 124. 

Mes-si'ah, 229. 

Metals, Age of, 4, 5. 

Mexico, the Aztec power in, 567, 
568 ; conquered by the Span¬ 
iards, 569. 

Michelangelo (Ital. pron. me-kel- 
an'ja-lo), 536, 537. 

Middle Ages, the, transition to, 
298. 

Midsummer Eve, 522. 

Milan (mil'an), city, 209, 491 ; 
Edict of, 235. 


Military-religious orders, 430, 435. 

Mil-ti'a-des, 95, 96, 102. 

Miracle plays, 523. 

Mis'si do-min'i-ci, the, 309. 

Mithra, worship of, in the Roman 
world, 227, 229. 

Mith-ra-da'tes, king of Pontus, 
179, 181, 185. 

Moawiya (mo-a-we'ya), 352. 

Mo-guls', rule of the, in India, 443. 

Mo-ham'med, prophet, 343, 345, 
346. 

Mohammed II, sultan, 446. 

Mohammedanism. See Islam. 

Mohammedans. See Moslems. 

Moliere (mo-lyar'), 646. 

Monarchy, Oriental, 42, 43 ; in 
early Greece, 82 ; in early Rome, 
142, 143, 149 ; Augustus as 
Princeps, 194 ; absolute, of 
Diocletian and his successors, 
221, 222 ; rise of absolute, in 
Europe, 449, 450, 451, 464, 465, 
470, 617, 618, 622, 629, 632, 636, 
638. 

Monasticism, rise of, 406, 407 ; the 
Benedictine Rule, 408, 409 ; life 
and work of Benedictine monks, 
409-411 ; the friars, 413-415 ; 
suppression of, in Scandinavia 
and England, 590, 593, 594. 

Money, use of cattle as, 6 ; devel¬ 
opment of metallic, 46 ; Athe¬ 
nian, 107, note 2 ; Roman, 143, 
144, 210, 211 ; scarcity of, in 
the Middle Ages, 488, 489 ; the 
Jews as money lenders, 490; in¬ 
creased supply of, after the dis¬ 
covery of America, 576. See 
also Coinage. 

Mongolia, 7, 438. 

Mongolian race, the, 15, 247. 

Mongols, the, their life and culture, 
438,439; conquests of, 440-445. 

Monotheism, Persian, 54 ; Hebrew, 
54, 55 ; Arabian, 343, 345, 346. 

Montaigne (mon-tan'), 541. 

Mon'te Cas-si'no, 409. 

Montfort, Simon de, 456, 457. 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 671 


Moors, the, 468 and note 1, 469. 

Morality plays, 524. 

More, Sir Thomas, 551. 

Mo-re'a, the, 494 and note 1. 

Morris dance, the, 522. 

Morte d’ Arthur (mort'-dar-tiir'), 
the, 503, 504. 

Moscow (mos'ko), 493, 495. 

Moses, Hebrew lawgiver, 52. 

Mos'lems, the, defeated by Charles 
Martel at Tours, 306, 314, 351 ; 
Charlemagne’s wars with, 309 ; 
in southern France, Italy, and 
Sicily, 314, 317, 351 ; meaning of 
the name “ Moslem,” 345 and note 
1; during the crusades, 424-433. 

Mummification, Egyptian practice 
of, 55. 

Mumming and mummers’ plays, 
523. 

Mus'co-vy, principality of, 445. 

Museum, Alexandrian, 130. 

Music, Greek, 255, 270 ; Renais¬ 
sance, 537, 538. 

Myc'a-le, naval battle of, 100, 101. 

Mycenae (mi-se'ne), Schliemann’s 
excavations at, 69, 70. 

Mysteries, Eleusinian, 226, 227 ; 
Mithraic, 229. 

Mythology, Greek, • 68, 75-78 ; 
Roman, 142, 143, 147 ; Scan¬ 
dinavian, 363-365. 

Names, Greek and Roman, 253, 
254 and note 1 ; occupational, 
in the Middle Ages, 483. 

Nantes (Fr. pron. naNt), Edict of, 
609, 610, 645, 646. 

Naseby, battle of, 625. 

Nationality, rise of, in Europe, 450. 

Nau'cra-tis, 90. 

Navarre (nd-var'), kingdom of, 
469, 609 and note 1. 

Navy, Phoenician, 94, 123 ; Car¬ 
thaginian, 163 ; Spanish and 
English, 607. 

Ne-ar'chus, voyage of, 125, 134. 

Neb-u-chad-nez'zar, king of Baby¬ 
lonia, 3.6. 


Negro race, the, 15. 

Nero, Roman emperor, 193, 197, 
198, 213, 292. 

Nerva, Roman emperor, 200. 

Netherlands, the, condition of, in 
the Middle Ages, 496, 601 ; 
Protestantism in, 602 ; revolt 
of, 602-604, 606 ; Belgian or 
Spanish, 604, 639, 642. See also 
Holland. 

Nibelungenlied (ne'be-loong-en-let), 
the, 504. 

Nicsea (ni-se'd), Council of, 402. 

Nicene Creed, the, 236, 403. 

Nile River, 22-24. 

Nineveh (nm'e-ve), 35, 36, 124. 

Nippur (nip-poor'), excavations at, 
63, 64. 

Nobility, Oriental, 43 ; early 
Greek, 82 ; Athenian, 85, 86 ; 
early Roman, 150, 151 ; feudal, 
380-383. 

Normandy, 370. 

Normans, the, settle in France, 
370 ; conquer England, 374, 376 ; 
results of the Norman Conquest, 
376, 377 ; conquer southern 
Italy and Sicily, 377, 378 ; 
as crusaders, 425, 426. 

Northmen, their home, 360, 361 ; 
the Viking Age, 361-363 ; in the 
West, 366-368; in the East, 
368, 369. 

Northwest Passage, search for the, 
574. 

Norway, 314, 360, 361. 

Novgorod (nov'go-rot), 369, 445. 

Nu'ma Pom-pil'i-us, 143, 146. 

Numerals, the “Arabic,” 356 ; the 
Roman, 509. 

Oath-swearing, 383. 

Oc-ta'vi-an, 188-190. See also Au¬ 
gustus. 

O'din, 364, 365. 

O-do-a'cer, king of the Germans in 
Italy, 249 ; conquered by The- 
odoric, 298, 299. 

Odysseus (o-dis'us), 73, 74. 



672 


Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


O'laf the Saint, 365. 

Olympiad, 79, note 4. 

Olympian council, the, 75. 

Olympian games, described, 79- 
81 ; abolished, 236, 237. 

Olympieum (o-lim-pi-e'um), the, 
217, 290. 

Omar, second caliph, 352 ; mosque 
of, 359. 

Omar Khayyam (o'mar Ki-yam'), 

-358. 

Ommiads (o-mi'adz), dynasty of 
the, 352 and note 1. 

Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, 78, 79. 

Oratory, Greek, 117, 273 ; Ro¬ 
man, 277. 

Ordeals, 384. 

Orders of Greek architecture, 279, 
280. 

Orleans (or-la-aN'), city, 464. 

Ostracism, 87 and note 1, 97, 103. 

Os'tro-goths, the, subdued by the 
Huns, 241, 242 ; cross the Dan¬ 
ube, 243 ; invade Italy, 298 ; 
under Theodoric, 299, 300 ; con¬ 
quered by Justinian, 300, 330 ; 
become Catholic Christians, 411. 

Othman, third caliph, 352 ; Otto¬ 
man chieftain, 445. 

Otto I, the Great, 316-318, 412, 
416, 417, 471. 

Ot'to-man Turks, the, rise and 
spread of, 445, 446 ; siege and 
capture of Constantinople by, 
446, 448 ; their control of Asiatic 
trade routes, 488, 493. 

Oxford, university of, 510, 512. 

Pacific Ocean, the, discovery of, 
565, 569. 

Paganism, decline of, 195, 196, 
226, 236, 237. 

Painting, prehistoric, 13 ; Oriental, 
60 ; iEgean, 71, 72, 74 ; Roman, 
287, 288 ; Byzantine, 330 ; 

Italian, in the Middle Ages, 336 ; 
Renaissance, 536, 537, 539 and 
note 1. 

Palestrina (pa-las-tre'na), 538. 


Pal-my'ra, 211. 

Pan-ath-e-na'ic festival, the, 264, 
292. 

Pan'the-on, the, 202, 283, 294, 597. 

Pantomimes, Roman, 265. 

Papacy. See Roman Church. 

Paper, use of, 533. 

Papyrus, use of, as writing mate¬ 
rial, 1, 2, 255, 256, 533. 

Parallel Lives , Plutarch’s, 273. 

Parchment, use of, as writing 
material, 1, 256, 533. 

Paris, in Roman imperial times, 
247 ; sacked by the Northmen, 
370 ; becomes capital of France, 
464 ; university of, 509, 510, 
512. 

Parishes, church, 406. 

Parliament, English, in the thir¬ 
teenth century, 455-458 ; under 
the Stuarts, 617-632 ; under 
William III, 633. 

Parsees, the, 54, note 1. 

Par'the-non, the, 291, 292. 

Parthia, 184, 194, 200, 201, 219. 

Patriarchate, development of the, 
401, 402. 

Patricians (pa-trish'ans), the early 
Roman, 150, 151. 

Paul III, pope, 597. 

Pax Romana, the, 203, 204. 

‘‘Peace of God,” the, 386. 

Peasants, Oriental, 44 ; condition 
of, in early Attica, 86 ; early 
Roman, 143, 144 ; disappear¬ 
ance of Roman, 173 ; in the 
Middle Ages, 395-399. 

Peasants’ Rebellion, the, 549, 550. 

Peking (pe-king'), 442, 554. 

Pe-lop'i-das, 111. 

Pel-o-pon-ne'si-an League, 83, 102, 
109, 113. 

Pepin (pgp'in) the Short, king of 
the Franks, 306, 307, 351, 412. 

Per'i-cles, 103, 104, 110, 112, 290, 
291. 

Persecution, of the early Chris¬ 
tians, 232-234. 

Per-sep'o-lis, 124. 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 673 


Persia, rise of, under Cyrus the 
Great, 37, 38 ; under Cambyses, 
38; under Darius the Great, 38, 

39 ; organization of the Persian 
Empire, 39, 40 ; advance of, to 
the Mediterranean, 93-95 ; the 
Persian wars, 95-100; expedition 
of Cyrus the Younger and re¬ 
treat of the Ten Thousand, 120- 
122 ; conquered by Alexander 
the Great, 122-124 ; rise of the 
New Persian Empire, 219 ; con¬ 
flict between, and the Roman 
Empire in the East, 332, 333 ; 
conquered by the Arabs, 349 ; 
overrun by the Mongols, 440. 

Peru, the Inca power in, 568, 569 ; 
conquered by the Spaniards, 
569. 

Peter the Hermit, 427, 428. 

Petition of Right, the, 619, 620, 
632. 

Petrarch (pe'trark), 531, 532. 
Petrograd (pe'tro-grad), 336. 
Phalanx, the Macedonian, 116, 154. 
Pharaoh (fa'ro), 26. 

Phar-sa'lus, battle of, 185. 

Phid'i-as, Athenian sculptor, 290, 
291. 

Philse (fi'le), island of, 23. 

Philip of Anjou, 641. 

Philip II, king of Macedonia, 113, 
115-119. 

Philip II, Augustus, king of France, 
421, 422, 464 ; IV, the Fair, 464, 
465. 

Philip II, king of Spain, 594, 600, 
601, 602, 604, 606. 

Phi-lip'pi, founded by Philip II, 
116 and note 1 ; battles of, 189. 
Philippine Islands, the, 565, 570, 
note 1. 

Philistines (f i-lis'tins), 30, 31. 
Philosophy, Greek, 273-276 ; scho¬ 
lastic, 513, 514. 

Phoenicia (f e-nish'i-d), the country 
and people, 29 ; commerce of, 
with Europe, 48, 49 ; Phoenician 
imports and exports, 49 ; Phce- | 


nician exploring voyages and 
settlements, 49, 50 ; conquered 
by Persia, 94. 

Piets, the, 246. 

Piers Plowman, 551. 

Pilgrimages, Mohammedan, to 
Mecca, 347; Christian, to the 
Holy Land, 424, 425. 

Pindar, Greek poet, 271. 

Piracy, in antiquity, 74, 184, 210 ; 

in the Middle Ages, 487. 

Pi-rae'us, 100, 101, 107, 108, 111, 
288. 

Pisa (pe'sa), 491, 492. 

Pi-sis'tra-tus, tyrant of Athens, 86, 
87. 

Pizarro (Span. pron. pe-thar'ro), 
Francisco, 569. 

Plagues, 110, 549. 

Plan-tag'e-net dynasty, the, 451 
and note 1. 

Plants, domestication of, 8 and 
note 1, 22. 

Pla-tse'a, battle of, 100. 

Pla'to, Athenian philosopher, 275, 
560. 

Plebeians (ple-be'yans), the early 
Roman, 150, 151. 

Plutarch (ploo'tark), Greek bi¬ 
ographer, 273. 

Pnyx (niks), hill, 105, 290. 

Poetry, Greek epic, 73, 270, 271 ; 
Greek lyric, 271 ; Greek dra¬ 
matic, 271, 272 ; Roman, 277, 
278 ; Arabic, 358 ; medieval, 
502-505 ; Renaissance, 531, 541, 
542. 

Poitiers (pwa-tya'), battle of, 466. 
Poland, 443. 

Polo, game, 521. 

Polos, the, in the Far East, 442, 
554. 

Pom-e-ra'ni-a, 473, 613. 

Pompeii (pom-pa'ye), destruction 
of, 199 ; excavations at, 200, 
210, 258, 259, 261. 

Pom-pe'ius, Gnse'us. See Pompey. 
Pompey (pom'pi), 180, 181, 183- 
185. 



674 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Pontiffs, Roman, 148. 

Pon'ti-us Pi-la'tus, 229, note 1. 

Pope, the, 148, note 2, 402 and note 
3. 

Portugal, rise of, 469 ; becomes 
colonial power, 559, 560 ; union 
of, with Spain, 600, 601. 

Poseidon (po-si'don), 76. 

Potosi (po-to-se'), silver mines of, 
576. 

Prae'tors, Roman, 151. 

Prague (Ger. pron. prag), univer¬ 
sity of, 512, 585. 

Praise of Folly, the, 582. 

Prehistoric times, defined, 3 ; di¬ 
visions of, 3-5 ; steps toward 
civilization in, 6-15 ; in Greece 
and the TEgean, 68-72. 

Pres'by-ter, church official, 232 
and note 2. 

Presbyterian churches, 596, note 1, 
621, 625, 626, 627, 630. 

Prester John, legend of, 654. 

“Pride’s Purge,” 626. 

Priesthood, Oriental, 43 ; Roman, 
148 ; Christian, 232, 401, 406, 
407. 

Primogeniture, 381 and note 1. 

Prince, the, by Macchiavelli, 540. 

Prin'ceps, the title, 194 and note 1. 

Printing, invention of, 533-535. 

Protectorate, the, England under, 
628, 629. 

Protestants, sects of, 596. 

Provengal (pro-vaN-sal') speech, 
502 and note 1. 

Provinces, Roman, 172, note 1, 202. 

Provincial system, Roman, 171, 
172 ; reformed by Julius Caesar 
and Augustus, 187, 195 ; re¬ 
modeling of, by Diocletian, 221. 

Prussia. See Brandenburg. 

Prussians, converted to Christian¬ 
ity, 413, 474, 475. 

Ptolemaic system, the, 133, 546. 

Ptolemies (tol'e-miz), kingdom of 
the, 127, 190. 

Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s gener¬ 
als, 127 ; Greek scientist, 133. 


Pub'li-cans, Roman, 172 and note 

2 . 

Public lands, Roman, 175. 

Pu'nic War, First, 163, 164 ; Sec¬ 
ond, 164-167 ; Third, 168, 169. 

Punjab (pun-jab'), the, 20, 39, 125. 

Puritan Revolution, the, 622-629. 

Puritans, the, 619, 621, 625. 

Pym, John, 622, 624. 

Pyramids, the, 27, 29. 

Pyrrhus (pir'#s), 154. 

Pyth'e-as, exploring voyage of, 131. 

Quaestors (kwSs'tors), Roman, 151. 

Quir'i-nal Hill, 141, 143. 

Races of man, 15-17. 

Raleigh (ro'll), Sir Walter, 574, 575, 
607. 

Rameses (ram'e-sez) II, king of 
Egypt, 28. 

Raphael (raf'a-el), 537. 

Ra-ven'na, 209, 244, 298, 299, 300, 
302, 306, 336. 

Red Sea, 21, 32, 211. 

Reformation, the, preparation for, 
579-585 ; in Germany, 585- 
590 ; in Scandinavia, 590 ; in 
Switzerland, 590, 591 ; in the 
British Isles, 591-594 ; the 
Protestant sects, 596 ; the Cath¬ 
olic Counter, 597-600 ; in the 
Netherlands, 602, 604 ; in 

France, 608, 609. 

Reims (remz), 304. 

“Relief,” the feudal, 382. 

Religion, Oriental, 52-56 ; early 
Greek, 75-78, 91 ; Greek re¬ 
ligious institutions, 78-81 ; early 
Roman, 145-148 ; reforming 
activities of Augustus, 195-196 ; 
worship of the Caesars, 196, 197, 
216 ; decline of classical pagan¬ 
ism, 226 ; Eleusinian mysteries, 
226, 227 ; Oriental .religions in 
the Roman Empire, 227, 229 ; 
Christianity in the Roman Em¬ 
pire, 229-237 ; Arabian heathen¬ 
ism, 343 ; Islam, 346-348 ; 




Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 675 


Scandinavian heathenism, 363- 
366 ; the Papacy and the Holy 
Roman Empire, 401-423 ; the 
Reformation, 679-600. 

Renaissance (rgn-S-saNs'), the, 
meaning of the term, 529 ; ori¬ 
gin of, in Italy, 529-530 ; as a 
revival of learning, 530-533, 
538-539 ; as an artistic revival, 
535-539 ; in literature, 539- 
543 ; in education, 543-545 ; 
in science, 545-548 ; economic 
aspects of, 548-551 ; the geo¬ 
graphical, 552 ; interest of the 
popes in, 582. 

Representation, principle of, not 
found in the classical city-state, 
106, 155 ; in England, 456, 457 ; 
in France, 465. 

Restitution, Edict of, 612, 613. 

Reynard (ra'nard) the Fox, 504, 505. 

Rhine River, 183, 195, 245, 303, 
308, 639. 

Rhyme, use of, as a poetic device, 
502. 

Richard I, king of England, 432, 
433, 454 ; II, 550, 585. 

Richelieu (re-she-lyfi'), Cardinal, 
610, 612, 635, 639, 646. 

Ricimer (ris'i-mer), 249. 

Roads, Persian, 40 ; Roman, under 
the republic, 157, 158 ; under 
the empire, 203. 

Robin Hood, ballads of, 505. 

Ro'land, Song of, 309, note 1, 503. 

Rollo, 370. 

Romance (ro-m&ns') languages, 
208, 332, 500. 

Romances, the Arthurian, 503, 504. 

Roman Church, the, missionary 
activity of, in the early Middle 
Ages, 302, 304, 316, 322-325 ; 
relations of, with Clovis, Pepin 
the Short, Charlemagne, and 
Otto the Great, 305, 306, 307, 
311, 317, 319 ; rise and growth 
of the Papacy, 403, 404 ; juris¬ 
diction of, 404-406 ; the secular 
clergy, 406, 407 ; the regular 


clergy, 407-411 ; power of the 
medieval Papacy, 415, 416 ; 

contest between the Papacy and 
the Empire, 416-423 ; decline 
of, in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries, 579-582 ; heresies and 
heretics, 582-585 ; the Protes¬ 
tant Reformation, 585-597 ; the 
Counter Reformation, 597-600 ; 
the religious wars, 601-614. 

Romanesque architecture, 505- 
507, 535. 

Romanization, of Italy, 158 ; of 
Sicily and Spain, 169 ; of Gaul, 
184, 462 ; the Germans not 
Romanized, 195 ; of Dacia, 200 ; 
of East and West, 217, 218 ; of 
the Visigoths, 245 ; of the 
Ostrogoths, 299, 300 ; of the 
Lombards, 302 ; of the Franks, 
303. 

Romans, the, their legends, 142, 

143 ; their early society, 143, 

144 ; the Roman family, 144, 

145 ; the faiqily and state re¬ 
ligion, 145-148 ; the Roman 
city-state, 149-152 ; nature of 
Roman rule over Italy, 155 ; 
their colonies and roads in Italy, 
155-158 ; their army, 158-160 ; 
provincial system under the re¬ 
public, 171, 172 ; effects of for¬ 
eign conquests on, 172-174 ; 
at the end of the republican 
period, 190, 191 ; during the 
Augustan Age, 195, 196 ; ex¬ 
tension of Roman citizenship, 
204 ; economic and social con¬ 
ditions in the first and second 
centuries, 210-215 ; the Graeco- 
Roman world, 215-218 ; ec¬ 
onomic and social conditions in 
the third and fourth centuries, 
224-226 ; Christian influence on 
society, 237 ; Germanic influ¬ 
ence on society, 250, 251 ; fusion 
of, with the Germans, 325, 326. 

Rome, founding of, 140-142 ; 
myths of early, 142, 143 ; be- 



676 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


comes a republic, 143 ; contest 
between plebeians and patri¬ 
cians, 150, 151 ; burned by the 
Gauls, 153 ; becomes supreme 
in Italy, 153, 154 ; First Punic 
War, 162-164 ; annexation by, 
of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and 
Cisalpine Gaul, 164 ; Second 
Punic War, 164-167 ; Third 
Punic War, 168, 169 ; annexa¬ 
tion of Spain, Macedonia, Greece, 
and western Asia Minor, 169- 
171 ; reforms of the Gracchi, 
174-178 ; Jugurthine and Ger¬ 
manic wars, 178 ; Social War, 
178, 179 ; Mithridatic wars, 179, 
181, 185 ; struggle between 

Marius and Sulla, 179, 180 ; 
annexation of Syria, 181 ; an¬ 
nexation of Transalpine Gaul, 
183, 184 ; struggle between 

Caesar and Pompey, 184, 185 ; 
Egypt annexed, 185, 190 ; Civil 
War between Antony and Octa- 
vian, 190 ; reign of Augustus, 
193-197 ; under the Julian and 
Claudian Caesars, 197, 198 ; 

burning of, 198, 292 ; under the 
Flavian Caesars, 199, 200 ; under 
the “Good Emperors,” 200, 201 ; 
under the “Soldier Emperors,” 
219, 220 ; fortification of, 220 ; 
under the “Absolute Emperors,” 
220-224; no longer the capital 
after the foundation of Constan¬ 
tinople, 223 ; captured by the 
Visigoths, 244; sacked by the 
Vandals, 249 ; the ancient city 
as an art center, 292-296 ; as 
the capital of the Papacy, 416. 

Rom'u-lus, first king of Rome, 142 ; 
Au-gus'tu-lus, last Roman em¬ 
peror in the West, 249. 

Roses, War of the, 467, 468. 

Ro-set'ta Stone, the, 42. 

Royal Road, Persian, 40. 

Ru'bi-con River, 154, 179, 185. 

Ru'dolf of Hapsburg, 423, 471. 

Rum (room), sultanate of, 426. 


Runes, the, 240, 361, 364. 

Run'ni-mede, 454. 

Ruric, 369. 

Russia, geography of, 65, 66 ; 
Swedish settlements in, 368, 
369 ; conquered by the Mongols, 
443-445 ; rise of Muscovy, 445. 

Russians, converted to Chris¬ 
tianity, 335, 412. 

Sabbath, Hebrew, 52, 345. 

Sa'bines, the, 140, 141, 143. 

Sacred Way, Roman, 190, 295 ; 
Athenian, 288- 

Sagas, the, 362, 363, 367. 

St. Bartholomew’s Day, massacre 
of, 608, 609. 

St. Basil (b&z'il), 408, 409. . 

St. Benedict, 409. 

St. Dom'i-nic, 414. 

St. Francis, 413, 414. 

St. Patrick, 323. 

St. Paul, 170, note 1, 206 and note 
1, 230, 231. 

St. Peter, 230, 307, 324 ; church of, 
at Rome, 311, 535, 586. 

Sal'a-din, 431, 433. 

Salamanca, university of, 513. 

Sal'a-mis, naval battle of, 99. 

Salem, witchcraft delusion at, 520. 

“Sal'ic law,” the, 465, note 1. 

Sa-ma'ri-a, 33, 34, 230. 

Sam'nites, the, Italian highlanders, 
140 ; conquered by the Romans, 
153 ; revolt of, in the Social War, 
179. 

Sanc'ta So-phi'a, church of, 331 
and note 2, 339, 340. 

“Sanctuary,” right of, 405. 

San'skrit, 16, note 1. 

Santa F6 (san'ta fa'), 570. 

Sar'a-cens, 345, note 1. See also 
Moslems. 

Sardinia, 89, 138, 162, 164, 330, 
642. 

Sardis, capital of Lydia, 38, 98, 
122 . 

Sargon II, Assyrian king, 34. 

Satan, 346. 




Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 677 


Satrapies, Persian, 39, 40. 

Saturn, 53, 295. 

Saul (sol), Hebrew king, 21 ; of 
Tarsus, 230. 

Savoy, 642. 

Saxony, 308, 315. 

Scandinavia, geography of, 66, 
360, 361 ; Reformation in, 590. 

Schliemann (shle'man), Heinrich, 
excavations by, 68-70. 

Scholasticism, medieval, 513, 514. 

Schwyz (shvets), canton of, 472. 

Science, primitive, 11-13 ; Orien¬ 
tal, 60-62 ; Greek, 131 ; Arab, 
356, 358 ; medieval, 514, 515 ; 
Renaissance, 545-548. 

Scip'i-o, Pub'li-us, 167 ; iE-mil-i- 
a'nus, 168, 169. 

Scotland, partially conquered by 
the Romans, 197 ; the Piets of, 
246 ; Christianity introduced 
into, 323, 325 ; the Northmen 
in, 366 ; formation of the 
Scottish kingdom, 460 ; con¬ 
quered by Edward I, 461 ; be¬ 
comes independent of England, 
461 ; union of, with England, 
633, 634. 

Scots, the,' 246, 460. 

Scribes, Oriental, 63. 

Sculpture, 'prehistoric, 13 ; Egyp¬ 
tian,. 58, 59 ; Babylonian and 
Assyrian, 59 ; iEgean, 71, 73 ; 
Greek, 281, 282 ; Roman, 287 ; 
Renaissance, 536, 539. 

Scythians (slth'f-ans), 39, 439. 

“Sea dogs,” the English, 574, 606. 

Sea-power, Persian, 94, 123 ; im¬ 
portance of Roman, in the 
Second Punic War, 165 ; in 
the crusades, 435 ; Venetian, 
493 ; English, 607. 

Sects, the Protestant, 596, 630. 

Seleucus, 127. 

Seljuk (s6l-jook') Turks, 333, 425, 
426. 

Sem'ites, the, relation of, to Indo- 
Europeans, 16 ; principal divi¬ 
sions of, 17. 


Senate, Roman, in the regal age, 
149 ; during the early centuries 
of the republic, 152, 154, 167 ; 
during the last century of the 
republic, 175, 177, 179, 180, 184, 
186, 188, 190, 194 ; under the 
empire, 196, 198, 221. 

Sen'e-ca, 213, 216. 

Sennacherib (se-n&k'er-ib), Assyr¬ 
ian king, 35. 

Serbia, 195, 334, 335. 

Serfdom, of the Spartan helots, 83 ; 
in the Middle Ages, 398, 399 ; 
absence of, in medieval cities, 
479 ; decline and abolition of, 
548-550. 

“Servian Wall,” the, 141, 294. 

Seven Hills of Rome, 142, 292, 294. 

“Seven liberal arts,” the, 512. 

“Seven Wonders” of the ancient 
world, 128, note 2. 

Shakespeare, William, 541, 542. 

She'd, Hebrew underworld of the 
dead, 55. 

Sicily, colonized by the Greeks, 89 ; 
Athenian invasion of, 110, 272 ; 
geographical situation of, 137 ; 
invaded by Pyrrhus, 154 ; Car¬ 
thaginians in, 154, 162, 163 ; 
conquered by Rome, 164 ; Ro- 
manization of, 169 ; a province 
of the Roman Empire in the 
East, 302 ; the Moslems in, 317; 
Norman conquest of, 377, 378. 

Si'don, 28. 

Siege engines, Macedonian, 116. 

Sieg'fried, 504. 

Sierra Leone (si-er'ale-o'ne), 49,558. 

Sim'o-ny, 418 and note 1. 

Sinai (si'nl), peninsula of, 4, 32. 

Slavery, Oriental, 44 ; Greek, 74, 
106, 107, 268 ; Roman, 207, 212, 
215, 224, 237, 268-270 ; Chris¬ 
tianity and, 237, 270 ; decline 
of, in medieval Europe, 398. 

Slavs (slavs), the, an Indo-Euro¬ 
pean people, 66 ; wars of Charle¬ 
magne and Henry the Fowler 
with, 309, 314, 315 ; how divided, 



678 Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


316, note 1 ; settle in south¬ 
eastern Europe, 334, 335 ; con¬ 
verted to Christianity, 335, 412 ; 
the Germans and the, 473, 474. 

Social War, the, 178, 179, 207. 

Society of Jesus. See Jesuits. 

Society, Oriental, 42-44, 63 ; in the 
Homeric Age, 74 ; in the . Hel¬ 
lenistic Age, 133, 134 ; early 
Roman, 143-145 ; effects of 
foreign conquests on Roman, 
172-174, 190, 191 ; under the 
Early Empire, 212-215 ; in¬ 
fluence of Christianity upon, 
237 ; Germanic influence upon, 
250, 251. 

Soc'ra-tes, Athenian philosopher, 
273, 274. 

Soissons (swa-soN'), battle of, 303. 

“Soldier Emperors,” the, 219, 220. 

Solomon, Hebrew king, 32, 49. 

So'lon, legislation of, 86. 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover, 633, 
634. 

Soph'ists, the, 273. 

Soph'o-cles, Athenian dramatist, 
271, 272. 

Spain, Phoenicians in, 49 ; Car¬ 
thaginians in, 89, 163, 164 ; con¬ 
quered by Rome, 167, 169 ; Ro- 
manization of, 169 ; Pompey in, 
180 ; Caesar in, 185 ; overrun 
by the Visigoths and Vandals, 
244, 245 ; the Arabs in, 351, 
352 ; physical and racial, 468 ; 
Christian states of, 469 ; re¬ 
covery of, from the Moors, 469 ; 
under Ferdinand and Isabella, 
470 ; under Philip II, 600, 601 ; 
in the War of the Spanish Suc¬ 
cession, 641, 642. 

Spanish Succession, the, War of, 
641, 642. 

Sparta, early history of, 83 ; Spar¬ 
tan government and society, 
83-85 ; her part in the Persian 
wars, 95, 97, 98, 100 ; rivalry of, 
with Athens, 102, 103 ; the 
Peloponnesian War, 108-111 ; 


supremacy of, 111, 112 ; holds 
aloof during the struggle against 
Philip, 118. 

Spice Islands, 565. 

Spices, use of, in the Middle Ages, 
556. 

States of the Church, 306, 307 and 
note 1, 416, 582. 

Stem-duchies, German, 315 and 
note 1, 316, 317. 

Stephen II, pope, 306. 

Stil'i-cho, Vandal general, 243. 

Sto'i-cism, philosophy of, 226, 230, 
276. 

Stone Age, the, 3, 4. 

Stourbridge Fair, 486. 

Strafford, Earl of, 620, 621, 622. 

Stuart dynasty, the, 618, 629, 631, 
633. 

Sul'la, Lu'ci-us Cor-ne'li-us, 178- 
180, 191. 

Sully (Fr. pron. sii-le'), 610. 

Su-me'ri-ans, the, 24. 

Summa Theologice, the, of Aquinas, 
513. 

Superstitions of the Middle Ages, 
517-520. 

Su'sa, Persian capital, 40, 50, note 
2, 125. 

Swa'bi-a, 315, note 1, 

Sweden, 360, 612, 613, 639. 

Swedes; converted to Christianity, 
365, 413 ; in Finland and 

Russia, 368, 369. 

Swiss Confederation, the, 472, 473, 
613. 

Switzerland, rise of, 314, 473 ; the 
Reformation in, 590, 591. 

Syr-a-cuse', 89, 110, 208. 

Syria, conquered by Egypt, 28 ; 
Alexander the Great in, 123 ; 
annexed by Rome, 181 ; king¬ 
dom of, 127, 171 ; crusaders’ 
states in, 429, 430, 435. 

Tacitus (tSs'f-tus), Roman his¬ 
torian, 239, 278. 

Tam-er-lane'. See Timur the 
Lame. 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 679 


Ta-ren'tum, city, 89 and note 3, 
154 ; gulf, 139. 

Tar'quin the Proud, 143. 

Tar'shish, 50. 

Tartars. See Tatars. 

Ta'tars, the, 444, note 1. 

Taxation, Roman, 172, 225 ; royal, 
in the Middle Ages, 450, 451, 
455, 465. 

Templars, order of, the, 430. 

Temple, the, at Jerusalem, 32, 36, 
38, 199 and note 1, 340. 

Temples, Egyptian, 57, 58 ; Baby¬ 
lonian, 58 ; Greek and Roman, 
89, 101, 202, 215, 278-281, 283, 
295, 296. 

Ten Generals, the Athenian, 105. 

Tenochtitlan (tSn-och-tet-lan'), 
568. 

“Ten Thousand,” expedition. of 
the, 120-122, 272. 

Ten Tribes of Israel, 32, 33, 34, 35. 

Tetzel, 586. 

Teutonic Knights, the, 475. 

Teutonic languages, 242, 501. 

Theaters, Greek, 264, 265 ; Ro¬ 
man, 287. 

Thebes (thebz), in Egypt, 27, 28. 

Thebes, in Greece, the kingship 
abolished in, 82 ; neutral during 
the Persian wars, 97 ; becomes 
independent of Sparta, 111 ; 
supremacy of, 112, 113 ; unites 
with Athens against Philip, 118 ; 
destroyed by Alexander the 
Great, 120, 271. 

The-mis'to-cles, 96-101, 288. 

The-o-do'ra, 329. 

The-od'o-ric, king of the Ostro¬ 
goths, 298-300, 303. 

Theodosius (the-o-do'shi-'us) the 
Great, Roman emperor, 219, 236, 
237, 243. 

Ther-mop'y-lae, 98, 243. 

Theses, Luther’s ninety-five, 587. 

Thes'sa-ly, a district of northern 
Greece, 100, 116, 117, 185. 

“Third estate,” rise of the, 479, 
480. 


Thirty Years’ War, the, 610-614. 

Thor, 364, 365. 

Thousand and One Nights, the, 358. 

Thrace (thras), 94, 116, 120, 242. 

Thucydides (thu-sld'i-dez), Athe¬ 
nian historian, 108, 110, 272. 

Ti'ber River, 137, 140, 141, 292, 
294. 

Ti-be'ri-us, Roman emperor, 197, 
229, note 1, 278, 295. 

Ti'gris River, 22. 

Timur (ti-moor') the Lame, con¬ 
quests of, 440, 442. 

Tiryns (tl'rins), Schliemann’s ex¬ 
cavations at, 70. 

Titian (tish'an), 537. 

Ti'tus, Roman emperor, 199, 294 ; 
arch of, 199, 295. 

Toga, the Roman, 158, 258. 

Toleration, religious, 235, 590, 596, 
597, 609, 610, 630, 632, 645, 646. 

Toleration Act, the, 632. 

Tories, the, 630, 631 and note 1. 

Tournament, the, 392, 393. 

Tours (toor), battle of, 306, 351. 

Towns. See Cities. 

Trade routes, in Asia, 47, 48 ; in 
Europe, 48, 49 ; rediscovery by 
Nearchus of the sea route to 
India, 125, 134 ; in Roman im¬ 
perial times, 211 ; medieval, 
488 ; discovery of new, 559. 

Trading, Oriental, 46 ; in the 
Homeric Age, 73 ; at Rome, 
under the empire, 211, 212 ; 
in medieval cities, 485, 486. 

Tragedy, Athenian, 264, 265, 271, 
272. 

Tra'jan, Roman emperor, 200, 219, 
295. 

Treaties : Verdun, 312, 313 ; Mer- 
sen, 313 ; Augsburg, 589, 590 ; 
Westphalia, 612, 613 ; Utrecht, 
642. • 

Trent, Council of, 599. 

Tribunes, Roman, instituted, 150 ; 
the Gracchi as, 175-177 ; trib- 
unician authority of Augustus, 
194. 





68 o Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 


Trip'o-li, principality of, 429. 

Tri'remes, 99. 

Triumph, the Roman, 160, 190. 

Triumvirate, First, 183, 184 ; 

Second, 188, 189. 

Troubadours (troo'ba-doors), the, 
502. 

Troy, 68, 69, 142. 

‘‘Truce of God,” the, 387. 

Tsar (tsar), the title, 197, note 2, 
445, note 1. 

Tudor dynasty, the, 468. 

Turks. See Ottoman Turks, Sel- 
juk Turks. 

Twelve Tables, the, 150, 151, 206, 
255. 

Two Sicilies, kingdom of the, 377, 
378. 

Type, movable, 533 ; kinds of, 
534. 

Tyrannies, Greek, 82 ; at Athens, 
86, 87. 

Tyre (tlr), a Phoenician city, 29 ; 
captured by Alexander the 
Great, 123, 163. 

Ul'fi-las, 241, 242. 

Um'bri-ans, the, 140. 

Uniformity, Act of, 630. 

United Netherlands, the, 604. 

Universities, the Alexandrian Mu¬ 
seum, 150 ; Arab, 356 ; medie¬ 
val, 509-513 ; in Spanish Amer¬ 
ica, 573. 

Unlucky days, observance of, in 
the Middle Ages, 520. 

Unterwalden (oon-ter-val'den), can¬ 
ton of, 472. 

Ur'ban II, pope, 426, 427 ; VI, 581. 

Uri (oo'ri), canton of, 472. 

“Usury,” medieval prejudice 
against, 489. 

TJ-to'pi-a, the, by More, 551. 

Utrecht (u'trekt), Union of, 604 ; 
Peace of, 642. 

Va'lens, Roman emperor, 242. 

Val-hal'la, 365. 

Val-kyr'ies, the, 365. 


Vandals, settle in Spain and Af¬ 
rica, 245 ; capture and sack 
Rome, 248, 249 ; conquered by 
Belisarius, 330 ; become Cath¬ 
olic Christians, 411. 

Vases, Greek, 77. 

Vassalage, 380-383. 

Vat'i-can, Hill, 292 ; Library and 
Palace, 533, 536, 537. 

Vauban (vo-baN'), 638. 

Venice, origin of, 248, 493 ; par¬ 
ticipation of, in the Fourth Cru¬ 
sade, 433, 434 ; possessions of, 
494 ; described, 494. 

Verde (vftrd), Cape, 557. 

Verdun (ver-duN'), Treaty of, 312- 
314. 

Vergil, Roman poet, 256, 277, 278. 

Verres, impeachment of, 182. 

Versailles (ver-sa/y), 636, 637, 641. 

Ve-sa'li-us, 547. 

Ves-pa'si-an, Roman emperor, 199, 
294, 295. 

Vespucci (ves-poot'che), Amerigo, 
564. 

Vesta, 146, 212, 296. 

Vestal Virgins, the, 142, 146. 

Vienna, 473, 477. 

Vi'king, the name, 361 and note 1. 
See also Northmen. 

Viking Age, the, 361-363. 

Villas, Roman, 214, 287. 

Virginia, the Raleigh colonies in, 
574, 575. 

Vis'i-goths, the, seize Dacia, 241 ; 
accept Christianity, 241, 242 ; 
cross the Danube and win battle 
of Adrianople, 242, 243 ; in 
Greece and Italy, 243 ; capture 
Rome, 244 ; settlements of, in 
Gaul and Spain, 244, 245 ; Ro¬ 
manized, 245 ; their kingdom in 
Gaul annexed by the Franks, 
303 ; their kingdom in Spain 
conquered by the Arabs, 351. 

Vittorino da Feltre (vet-to-re'no 
da fSl'tra), 544, 545. 

Vlad'i-mir, 369. 

Vulgate, the, 538. 



Index and Pronouncing Vocabulary 681 


Wal-den'ses, the, 583, 584. 

Wales, annexed to England, 458, 
460. 

Wall, of China, 20 ; Athenian 
Long Walls, 108, 111 ; Servian, 
141 ; of Hadrian in Britain, 
206, 217, 246 ; of Rome, 294. 

Wallace, William, 461. 

Wallenstein (val'en-shtm), 611. 

Walloons, the, 496. 

Warfare, feudal, 385-387. 

Weekdays, origin of their names, 
53 and note 3. 

Welsh, the name, 319. 

Werewolves, 518. 

Wessex, kingdom of, 320, 371. 

West Goths. See Visigoths. 

West-pha'li-a, Peace of, 613. 

Whigs, the, 630, 631 and note 1. 

Whitby, Synod of, 324, 325. 

William, Prince of Orange. See 
William III. 

William the Conqueror, 372, 374, 
376, 450, 451. 

William the Silent, 602, 604, 639. 

William III, king of England, 631, 
633, 639 and note 2, 641. 

Witchcraft, European, 518-520. 

Witenagemot (wit'e-nd-ge-mot), 
372 and note 1, 456. 

Wittenberg (Ger. pron. vit'en- 
bgrx), 586, 587. 

Wolsey, Cardinal, 591. 

Women, position of, in classical 
antiquity, 144, 145, 257. 


Wool trade, Flemish, 497. 

Worms (vorms), Concordat of, 
420 ; Diet of, 587. 

Writing, by pictures, 8, 9 ; by 
symbols for sounds, 9 ; Chinese, 
Japanese, Babylonian, and Cre¬ 
tan, 9, 10, 71 ; Egyptian hiero¬ 
glyphics, 10 ; Phoenician, 10, 
11 ; teaching of, in the Orient, 
62, 63 ; Etruscan, 138, 140 ; 
the runes, 240, 241, 361. 

Wycliffe (wik'lif), John, 584, 585. 

Xavier (zav'i-er), St. Francis, 599. 

Xenophon (zen'6-fdn), Athenian 
historian, 121, 272. 

Xerxes (zhrk'zez), Persian king, 
97-99. 

Yangtse (yang'tsg) River, 19. 

York, city, 209 ; House of, 467, 
468. 

Ypres (e'pr’), 497. 

Yu-ca-tan', 567. 

Za'ma, battle of, 167. 

Za'ra, 433. 

Ze'no, 276. 

Zeus (zus), attributes of, 76 ; 
Olympian games in honor of, 
79. 

Zodiac, the, 61. 

Zo-ro-as'ter, 54. 

Zurich (zob'rik), 590. 

Zwingli (Ger. pron. tsving'le), 590. 
































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